


Chasing Tears

by RiddlePanda



Category: Kamen Rider Drive
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-24
Updated: 2016-03-06
Packaged: 2018-04-27 22:26:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 26,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5066869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiddlePanda/pseuds/RiddlePanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Instead of Kiriko finding Chase after he "died", what if Gou found him instead?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_“I guess these are our spoils? I gotta say, I doubt I’m gonna be riding this thing…”_

Gou grumbled internally as he adjusted his grip on Ride Chaser’s handles. Due to Rinna and Krim wanting to do a maintenance check on Macher, Gou was forced to take the recently acquired motorcycle home after Shinnosuke had defeated and destroyed its former owner. While Chaser had most of the same system setup as Macher, the bike handled differently since it was heavier at the front as opposed to the back like Macher was. Gou was having trouble keeping the bike straight as he headed to his apartment.

A sudden distressed beeping from Chaser’s system display scared the teen and Gou nearly veered off into the opposite lane. Luckily he was the only one on the road and quickly got the bike straight. He looked down, noticing the display showed a map and a purple blinking dot about a mile away. Gou furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what it meant.

The intersection where he was supposed to turn to his apartment was fixing to come up and Gou looked at the display again and sighed. If he didn’t see what this dot was, it would probably keep him up all night as he wondered what it meant. Instead of left, he turned right, heading for the abandoned warehouse district.

————————-

Gou parked Ride Chaser in the alleyway close to the warehouse the blinking dot was showing and cautiously walked around the building, trying to find an alternative way in so he wouldn’t be noticed by whatever or whoever was in there. He was glad it was already well past midnight, so he wouldn’t be spotted. He finally found an open window and soundlessly climbed through it, finding himself in a sea of crates and boxes.

The sound of a body falling hard on the concrete and a cry of pain put Gou on alert and he gripped Zenrin Shooter tighter, glad he already had put his Mach Driver on, ready to transform. He navigated the crates, trying to get closer to where he heard the sounds. He finally moved close enough and peered around a crate to the middle of the warehouse where he kept hearing grunts and whimpers.

Gou’s eyes grew wide and a pit formed in his stomach and he momentarily lost his grip on his gun before grabbing onto it tighter. It was dark in the warehouse but through the moonlight he saw Medic in her Roidmude form holding onto what appeared to be a struggling naked male by the neck with one of her tentacles. She rose the body up a few feet before letting go and throwing him on the floor, forcing the male to cry and whimper. She unleashed more tentacles and began to stab and slice the the shuddering body. The teen could hear Medic talking, but from his position, he wasn’t able to hear what she was saying.

Gou was about to transform and head out until he heard footsteps and he quickly moved behind the crate, before peering out again. Medic had changed back to her human form and Brain was standing beside her before walking over to the human and bending down. Gou saw a green light leave Brain’s finger and get absorbed by the body below him. The Roidmude stood up and tossed an object close to the body before he and Medic turned and began to walk out of the warehouse.

The teen waited a few minutes to be sure that the two Roidmudes left since he knew he couldn’t take both of them, all the while watching the human twitch and trying to move. Gou pulled Mad Doctor out of his pocket, grateful that hadn’t removed it from his Driver before he left the Pit that night and ran up to the human.

There were multiple wounds on the body and too much blood to accurately see what other injuries there were. The male’s face was obscured by his hair and he looked like he was in too much pain to realize Gou was beside him. Gou quickly observed the wounds Medic had made to the human’s body, rage welling up inside him at what the Roidmude did. He leaned down and gingerly touched the male’s shoulder to alert him of his presence.

The body violently flinched and the male’s head shot up to look at Gou, eyes wide and full of fear and pain. Gou’s breathing hitched and the pit in his stomach grew when he realized who the person was.

“Chase?”

Upon hearing Gou say his name, Chase whimpered and tried to move his body to back away from the teen, not breaking eye contact. A spasm of pain at the movement ran through his body and the Roidmude shuddered violently.

Gou sat there in shock, a million thoughts and questions running through his head. Shinnosuke had told him that he had destroyed Chase, destroyed his Core. Even Kiriko and Krim had been witness to it. Why was Chase alive? Why did Medic and Brain attack him and leave him here? Why did…?

A sickly green color ran through Chase’s body, leaving the male shuddering and whimpering again and broke Gou out of his thoughts. Gou looked at the body below him one more time, at the Roidmude’s pain filled and scared face. He had to make a decision fast on either trying to heal him…or finishing what Medic and Brain had started. He took a deep breath and grabbed the object that Brain threw next to Chase, which happened to be the Roidmude’s Break Gunner. He inserted Mad Doctor into it and lightly touched Chase on the shoulder again, getting his attention.

“Th…this is going to hurt Chase, but I’m going to try to heal you as much as I can. Maybe since Mad Doctor’s in your gun, the treatment might not hurt as much if I was using it in my Driver. Brace yourself. Okay?”

Chase locked eyes with Gou’s for a moment before nodding slightly, closing his eyes as Gou put the nozzle against the Roidmude’s chest and pulled the trigger. Chase loudly whimpered, letting out a few cries as Gou made sure to keep the gun fully on the Roidmude to at least heal him enough to get rid of whatever Brain had injected him with. The teen was sure that it was some kind of poison, considering what he knew about that particular Roidmude.

Chase was semi-conscious once Gou was done, trying to force himself to keep his eyes open, as the teen helped him up into a sitting position and draped his jacket around his shoulders.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

The Roidmude shakily pulled Gou’s jacket closer to him, grateful for the warmth as he bundled into it. A few minutes later, he heard a motorcycle coming closer and looked up to see Gou stopping a few feet away on Ride Chaser. Gou quickly got off and walked over to Chase and bent down, grabbing the Break Gunner and stuffing into his bag while pulling out a pair of blue pants.

“Luckily I always carry a spare change of clothes. Let’s try to get these on and then let’s get you home. My apartment is only a few miles away. You can rest there.”

Gou helped the Roidmude into the pants, helping him up as well, and half dragged Chase the few feet to the bike. Chase looked exhausted and disoriented and it took a few tries for the Roidmude’s arms to cooperate as Gou got them into the sleeves of his jacket and zipped it up.

Making sure Chase was firmly on the bike and his arms were secure around Gou’s waist, Gou using his spare shirt to tie Chase’s wrists together, the teen started Ride Chaser up and raced out of the warehouse to his apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

Gou was thankful that his apartment door was only a few feet away from where he normally parked Macher as Chase had fallen unconscious on the ride home and had essentially become dead-weight. The teen half carried the Roidmude into his apartment, immediately making a beeline for his bedroom to lay the unconscious male on his bed.

It was well past the time that Gou normally went to bed when he finally got the wounds that Mad Doctor didn’t heal treated and covered and washed all the blood-like substance off of Chase’s body. He dressed the Roidmude in clean clothes, throwing his dirty pants and jacket in the clothes basket to be washed.

The teen stared at the sleeping Roidmude, noticing Chase would still whimper, no doubt because of the wounds that still needing healing. At that moment, Gou realized how petite Chase’s human form really was, especially wearing his baggy clothing and being seemingly swallowed in his giant bed. Gou gave Chase one last look before heading into the kitchen and sitting down at the table after grabbing a soda.

Gou put his hands on his head, running them through his hair. Why did he save Chase? He wanted all the Roidmudes dead and gone, especially the ones that were just too strong for him and Shinnosuke to defeat at the moment. That included Chase…so why did he save him? For all the teen knew, the Roidmude could wake up and try to kill him, in fact he was betting on it. That’s all the purple clad man had tried to do the entire time Gou had been in Japan fighting the robot monsters.

The pit in his stomach came back as Gou replayed what he had seen at the warehouse in his mind. Medic had attacked Chase, Brain had poisoned him, and both left their own comrade to die of his wounds. The purple dot that alerted him to Chase’s whereabouts had shown up ten minutes before he got to the warehouse. Had Medic been attacking…torturing Chase for that long? Had Brain been there the entire time watching…or even participating?

Chase’s scared, pain filled face invaded his thoughts. That’s what it was, that’s what gave Gou the decision to save him. In that one moment, to see the normally serious and violent Roidmude so vulnerable…so _human_ … It was a Kamen Rider’s duty to protect and save people, an instinct that seemed to heighten itself once you put on the suit, and Gou performed the action perfectly.

Gou knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, so he finished his soda before grabbing another one as well as a glass of water and walked back to his room to watch Chase in case the Roidmude woke up.

———————–

_Chase shivered as he woke up, realizing that he wasn’t wearing anything to cover his human form. A sharp pain in his chest woke him up fully and he whimpered as he clutched at his chest near where a human heart should be, where his Core was._

_Once the pain subsided, he glanced around, trying to take in his surroundings. He was in a warehouse of some sort and it was already night. The Roidmude furrowed his eyebrows. The last thing he remembered was being in the shopping district and it had been day. He had been fighting the Kamen Rider before the Rider had blasted him in the air…and then…_

_Chase grabbed his head, grunting as he remembered the explosion. He should be dead, shouldn’t he? He remembered his body exploding…his Core…_

_The Roidmude shook the thoughts out of his head and stood up. He didn’t need to think about that now. He was alive and he still had a mission. He needed to get back to Heart and the others, tell them he was alive and ready to continue where he left off._

_He mentally gave Ride Chaser a beacon to find him and was about to create a new outfit to wear when something wrapped around his neck and lifted him up, before slamming him into a crate. Chase grunted in pain and quickly looked up to see Medic in her Roidmude form slowly advancing toward him._

_“Medic?”_

_The female Roidmude chuckled as she got closer. “I guess Brain was right about one thing. We should have put you out of your misery a long time ago. You’ve been nothing but a failure for far too long Chase. You couldn’t even do the simple task I programmed you to do, even **with** all the enhancements I gave you.”_

_She leaned down and gently cupped his cheek before using her nails to slash the left side of the male’s face. She stood up and kicked him sharply in the side, before grabbing him again and slamming him into a pile of junk on the opposite end of the warehouse._

_Chase clutched his chest, his Core feeling like it was on fire. It hadn’t healed fully yet from whatever had happened. He weakly tried to get up but the pain in his side from where the female Roidmude kicked him sent a spasm through his body and he curled up. He fearfully looked up when Medic came into his line of vision, her tentacles still out. She glanced at him before looking up._

_“Are you going to help or just watch?”_

_A familiar laugh sounded behind him and a pit seemed to form in Chase’s being. He heard footsteps and looked up to see Brain in his human form sneering at him._

_“Wouldn’t want to ruin your fun Medic. I’ll have my turn once you’re done. It’s funny that this is the only thing we’ve actually agreed on doing.”_

_Medic chuckled and grabbed Chase again and slammed him down hard on the concrete before grabbing him again by the throat and raising him up a distance before dropping him, giggling each time she heard the Roidmude’s distressed cries. She unleashed more tentacles and began to slice and stab the body in front of her._

_“You’re just a pathetic and useless piece of junk. Why Heart-sama ever thought you to be important to him or our mission is beyond me.”_

_Medic changed into her human form and Brain walked up to her and glanced at her before walking over to Chase’s shuddering body._

_“Although Medic is right, Heart is already devastated that you’re “dead.” So…you have a choice Chase. You have until sunrise to get back to our base so we can heal you and we’ll just erase your memories of tonight and act like this little event never happened, provided you pull your weight, otherwise this poison I’m injecting will kill you. Of course…you could always get help from the Kamen Riders if you want. Don’t think they’ll be helpful since you tried to kill them, but it’s worth that shot.”_

_Brain leaned down and dripped the poison onto Chase’s body which immediately absorbed into it. He stood up and threw Break Gunner at the Roidmude. “Of course you could always put yourself out of your misery.”_

_The two Roidmudes began to walk out while Chase grunted and whimpered, trying to move his injured body, trying to move anything without the intense pain he was in. He knew Brain and Medic would keep their word if only to please Heart. He had to get to the base to get healed. He didn’t want any memories to be erased like he had a feeling a lot already had been, but it was the only option he had._

_After a bad spasm, the Roidmude laid still, trying to ebb the pain away to try again. He didn’t realize someone was beside him until he felt someone gently touch his shoulder. He flinched, hoping it wasn’t Medic again and his head shot up, locking eyes with the young Rider that had shown up a few months ago._

_“Chase?”_

_Chase knew he would be dead if he didn’t get away now. The Mach Rider had a huge vendetta against the Roidmudes…against him, even more than Drive. He whimpered as he tried to scoot away from the teenager. The jarring movement aggravated his injuries and Chase stopped moving, shuddering violently. A slow burning feeling began to spread through his body and the Roidmude realized it was Brain’s poison attacking his body. He whimpered, knowing that even though he somehow survived Drive’s attack earlier that day, he wouldn’t survive the night._

_His shoulder was touched again and Chase looked up again, noticing the look in the Rider’s face was conflicted._

_“Th…this is going to hurt Chase, but I’m going to try to heal you as much as I can. Maybe since Mad Doctor’s in your gun, the treatment might not hurt as much if I was using it in my Driver. Brace yourself. Okay?”_

_Heal him? The Rider was going to heal him? But…they were enemies. Why would…? Chase locked eyes with the boy, seeing that he was waiting for some sort of sign for him to continue. The Roidmude decided to trust him and nodded slightly, trying to keep his movements to a minimum._

_The pain from the “healing” that Mad Doctor was performing was intense, but not as bad as what his current injuries had caused him. Once the Rider was done, he helped Chase into a sitting position, draping the white jacket he wore over his shivering body. Chase closed his eyes, about to shut down, when he heard the Rider pull up on Ride Chaser. Had the teen been riding it? Was that the reason why the Rider was here?_

_The teen helped him into some pants and walked him over to the bike and helped him get on, putting the jacket on the Roidmude more securely, before getting on himself, wrapping Chase’s arms around his waist. He heard the bike start up and he closed his eyes, letting his body_ _shut down. He was unconscious before they even left the warehouse._


	3. Chapter 3

Chase’s eyes shot open and he immediately realized it was daytime due to the sunlight in the room he was in. He also realized he was laying in a bed, something he knew he was not allowed to be in due to the rules he was given by his commanders. He tried to raise up only for his chest to let out a sharp spasm of pain and he cried out, raising his sore arm to his chest. 

Something moved in the corner of his eye and he turned his head to the right to see the Mach Rider sitting in a chair, rubbing at his eyes. Chase furrowed his eyebrows. Did the boy sit with him the entire time he was unconscious? His Break Gunner with the Shift Car that healed him was on the bedside table, as well as bandages and a glass of water. 

The Roidmude swallowed, feeling how dry and raw his throat felt. Although it wasn’t necessary for Roidmudes to eat or drink, food did provide a small boost to their natural healing abilities and he knew the water would lubricate his throat enough to kick in the healing process. It was probably for the Rider however, probably so he could keep an eye on him and he wouldn’t have to get up if he had grown thirsty. Chase closed his eyes, trying to get the saliva his human form produced to do the job.

“Do you need the water? I brought it in case… Can you guys even eat or drink?”

Chase looked over to the teen and nodded slowly, hoping he would realize the nod meant yes to both questions. The Rider shifted out of the chair and over to the bed, putting his arm under him and helping him raise up. There was a spasm in his chest and Chase raised his arm to combat the pain, realizing he appeared to be wearing some of the Mach Rider’s clothes. The teen made sure that the Roidmude had a good grip on the glass before letting it go. Careful not to disturb the bandage on his cheek, Chase carefully sipped the water, grateful for the coolness soothing his throat. He immediately felt his throat getting better. 

“Thank you. …Why did you save me?”

——————————

“I’m still trying to answer that question myself.”

Gou kept a hold on the Roidmude as he quietly sipped the water, finally taking the glass when the water was gone and put it back on the bedside table before shifting back into the chair he had been sitting in, leaving the Roidmude sitting up. Chase shifted, seemingly trying to get out of the bed, forcing the Roidmude to have another spasm the teen kept noticing he kept having in his chest. 

“Whoa! Hold on Chase, you’re not healed completely yet. You’re not leaving the bed until then.”

Chase looked at him with a wide-eyed, panicked look before looking down. “But…I failed my mission…and I’m not allowed…to…be in a bed…”

The last part was whispered softly but Gou was still able to hear it and his eyes grew wide. “What?! You’re not allowed to rest in a bed while you’re hurt?!”

The Roidmude furrowed his eyebrows, clenching the sheets. “No…at all. Beds are only for Roidmude Commanders. I’m just their subordinate to follow orders. I have to follow all the orders and rules they give me. Brain told me I don’t need a bed when I power down so he didn’t allow me to have one.”

Gou clenched his fists before looking Chase in the eye. “Well…while you’re here…any rules you had with them don’t apply here, okay? You’re staying in bed until you’re healed. Speaking of…you keep having pains in your chest. I’m worried about that.”

Chase brought his hand up to his chest. “My Core… I don’t think it’s healed properly yet after what happened.”

“What DID happen anyway? Shin-nii… um, Drive told me that he saw your body explode and your Core as well. So how ARE you alive anyway?”

“I…don’t know exactly. I felt myself explode and my Core…but then I woke up in that warehouse before Medic and Brain came to punish me for failing my mission.”

“That was punishment?! Is that what happens every time we fought you, you would get… THEY LEFT YOU TO DIE THERE CHASE! That’s not punishment! That’s… If I hadn’t been there…!”

“That’s…just how it’s always been from what I remember. I fail a mission or go against their rules, I get punished.” 

The two grew silent for a few minutes. Gou looked over to the bedside table, where the Break Gunner was. “H…how about we try to heal you a bit more with Mad Doctor? And after that, if you’re up for it, I can make us some lunch. …Were you even allowed to ea… No, don’t answer that. I think I already know the answer.”

Gou sat next to Chase on the bed again and put the Break Gunner next to the Roidmude’s chest. Chase whimpered and groaned while the teen kept the gun firmly in position, rubbing circles in his back to relax him.

Once the gun was removed, Chase put a hand on his chest, grateful that the dull pain was gone and his Core was almost fully healed. “Thank you Mach Rider.”

“It’s Gou. You can call me that if you want. Didn’t realize you didn’t know my name.”

“Then I shall call you Gou. Thank you Gou.”

————————

Gou left Chase to rest while he made lunch for the two of them, making sure to replenish the water glass in case Chase needed it. Their meal would only be instant ramen since the teen hadn’t been food shopping in a few days, plus his mind was on all he had learned about the Roidmude in his bedroom. 

It was obvious Chase wasn’t treated well by the Roidmudes, Chase’s “Commanders” as he called them. Gou initially thought they were all equal in rank with Heart having a bit more authority than the others, but hearing how Chase nonchalantly treated what they did to him as normal…

His thoughts drifted to Krim’s conversations about the first Drive, Proto-Drive, and how he was scared to lose Shinnosuke like he had lost Proto-Zero. Chase was Proto-Zero…Proto-Drive. What would have happened if Proto-Drive hadn’t been compromised by the Roidmudes, if Krim had finished his research and Chase…or whoever he was at the time of the Global Freeze had become Drive. 

Gou knew from eavesdropping that Krim and Harley had picked him for the Mach Driver because of who he was, who his father was. If Shinnosuke had never been Drive or even if Krim had decided to use a human user and use him anyway, Gou would have had to eventually work with Proto-Zero either way. 

The pit in his stomach from last night formed back and Gou swallowed hard. Chase belonged with them, the Drive Crew. The Roidmude hadn’t attacked him but he also kept talking as if he’d probably eventually rejoin the enemy once he was healed. Gou knew he had to do everything in his power to convince Chase to stay.


	4. Chapter 4

Chase hesitantly looked at the bowl of ramen that Gou handed to him, glancing at the teen devouring his own bowl. “This is a lot of food…”

Gou looked up mid slurp, noticing the Roidmude had yet to start eating. He finished chewing what was in his mouth and swallowed. “It’s just a normal portion Chase and you need food to heal the rest of the way, right? And…remember… whatever rules you had with them, they don’t apply here.”

Chase closed his eyes, nodding a moment later, before digging into the noodles slowly, seemingly savoring each bite. “This is really good.”

Gou chuckled. “If you think this is good, wait til you have actual ramen. Instant’s okay if you’re broke or haven’t been food shopping in a while which reminds me that I really need to do that, especially since you’re staying here for a while. We both can’t live off of cheap ramen. Nee-chan would probably kill me if she found that out.”

“Nee-chan?”

Gou sat his bowl down on the bedside table. “Um, Chase…I was meaning to ask you… do you remember anything about your time as Proto-Drive?”

The Roidmude looked down, staying silent for a few minutes. “I…only have bits of memories that are deeply rooted in my Core that Brain or Medic couldn’t erase. I am aware they have done a lot of damage to my memories and programming, but I was powerless to stop them from doing it. I only remember Krim Steinbelt’s instructions to protect humans and the woman I saved from one of the Roidmudes during the Global Freeze that Drive has already defeated. …That woman is your sister, is she not?”

“Yeah…my older sister, Kiriko. She thinks very highly of you, believes you can still join our side if you wanted. Or…do you want to go back to…them?”

“I…do not know if I would be wanted though…by either group. I’ve failed my orders so many times with Heart and the others and I’ve tried killing all of your group so many times now. I…”

Gou stood up and put his hand on Chase’s shoulder. “We’re a whole lot more forgiving than them…but…it’s up to you on what you want to do. I mean…we have rules too, but they’re not the insane level theirs are.”

Chase fidgeted with the sheets before looking up at Gou. “Do you think…I could have a few days before I make a decision? At least…until I’m healed all the way? And…maybe not tell anyone I’m…”

“Of course Chase. My apartment is a neutral zone. No one will bother you here, so take all the time you need. Anyway… how about you rest a bit while I go retrieve Ride Macher and get some groceries? I wish I could keep your bike here as well, but that would give away the fact you’re alive. Plus…I kind of made a fuss about having to drive it home last night…”

——————–

Chase had taken it upon himself to clean Gou’s apartment while he was there recovering. The teen seemed to be constantly busy with taking photography jobs and balancing his Rider duties and didn’t have time. Gou had told him he had full reign of the apartment while he was gone and the Roidmude had used the boy’s laptop to research how to cook. While Gou had bought a good amount of food a few days before, it was mostly cheap instant meals that Chase knew wasn’t healthy for the teen.

The Roidmude had just set the stew he was making to simmer when Gou staggered into the apartment and fell hard into one of the kitchen chairs, resting his head on the table.

Chase’s eyes grew wide and he was instantly by Gou’s side. “Gou! Are you okay?! You’re not hurt like you were a few days ago, are you?”

Gou lifted his head and shook it. “Game’s just changed. We encountered a Roidmude that can…fuse…with a human. We can’t destroy the Roidmude without also hurting the human inside, so it kind of kicked our butts today.”

“Fuse… That…would require that the Viral Cores were upgraded somehow…”

Gou sighed and put his head down again. “Yeah…that’s what we concluded as well. The Drive and Mach systems can be upgraded to combat this, to be able to un-fuse them, but we’ll need a sample of an Advanced Roidmude for that. Tomorrow, we were thinking of using one of us as bait while the other tried breaking off a sample of this new Roidmude.”

Chase abruptly stood up and walked out of the kitchen, returning a moment later with his Break Gunner in his hand. “Gou…I have made up my mind on who’s side I want to be on.”

The Roidmude activated his transformation into Mashin Chaser, forcing Gou to jump up, wide-eyed. “Ch…Chase!? What…what are you…!?”

Chase shifted the gun to the middle of his chest and blasted off one of his guard plates. The piece clattered to the floor as the Roidmude staggered back and shifted back into his human form. He wrapped his arm around his stomach and grimaced.

Gou managed to grab the Roidmude before he dropped to his knees and led him to the chair he had been sitting in. Lifting up Chase’s shirt, Gou furrowed his eyebrows as he saw the angry burn mark on his body. “What the hell Chase?! Why did you…!?”

“You needed a sample of an Advanced Roidmude. Even though my Mashin form can only be activated like your Rider form, it still is classified as being advanced according to Brain. I…do not wish either you or Drive to be harmed in trying to acquire something that dangerous to get, especially since one has already been able to break your Driver and poison you. I have made my decision to help you and Drive with anything you need…if you want it.”

Gou looked up to see the sincerity in the Roidmude’s face. “Are you positive Chase? Will you be okay in destroying your own kind?”

Chase carefully stood up and went to retrieve the part he had shot off himself and handed it to Gou. “I am sure Gou. You have shown me more kindness in the last few days than I remember ever being treated by my own kind, even when you didn’t know whether or not I would attack you when I woke up that first day. I do not want good and kind people like you to be hurt by them anymore, so if I’m able to use my powers to prevent that, I want to do everything in my power to help.”

Gou clutched the piece Chase gave him and nodded. “I’ll give it to Rinna first thing tomorrow. Do you want me to tell her where it came from or lie to her? Are you ready to join us since you’re going to help us?”

“If she figures it out, then tell her. Otherwise lie to her. As for joining… I want to know if everyone would be okay with it before I go there. I don’t want any hostility.”

“Alright. I’ll do a little intel on that matter. Anyway…we need to get that burn on your stomach treated and then I think we should dig in to whatever you made. It smells delicious!”


	5. Chapter 5

Gou made his way to the Drive Pit early the next day to give Rinna the piece of Chase’s Mashin suit, making sure to beat his sister and Shinnosuke there. The woman was already at her computer, typing in programs to modify both the Drive and Mach Drivers, when Gou pulled in the alternate entrance to the Pit, parking his bike next to Chase’s.

Rinna looked up and smiled. “You’re here early Gou! Kiriko and Shinnosuke are in a meeting right now but should be here once it’s done and then we’ll go over how we’ll draw that new Roidmude out. This plan of getting a sample is going to be a tricky one.”

Gou took a deep breath and walked over to the woman, his hand firmly on the guard piece in his pocket. He made sure Rinna was looking at him before pulling it out and handing it to her. “Actually…we don’t have to. This should do…shouldn’t it?”

Rinna’s eyes grew wide as she took the piece. “Gou! This is…! Where in the world did you get this!?”

The teen fidgeted, trying to not look the woman in the eyes. “I…had it…laying around. I blasted it off of Chase in one of our fights and took it as a prize. Forgot I had it until now… It’ll work…right?”

“Yes it’ll work. Gou…is everything…okay? You seem…”

Gou’s phone went off and the teen quickly answered it, his eyes furrowing before ending the call and turning toward Rinna. “That was Nee-chan. Shin-nii-san called her to tell her that he thinks he knows where the Roidmude will strike. His old partner was the one that arrested the guy that’s the human host of that thing so he thinks the Roidmude is gonna attack the hospital. They’re trying to evacuate it now.”

Rinna quickly attached the guard to her computer and began to type. “I can try to make the changes as quickly as possible, but I’m afraid I’ll only have time to update one system. Since you’re here…”

Gou got on his bike and put his Driver around his waist. “We don’t have the time Rinna. I’ll try to stall him as long as I can while you adjust the Drive Driver.”

The teen rode off and Rinna turned back to her computer to type the new program, glancing at the sample Gou had given her, noting that the blast mark seemed way too new to have been done a while ago. It looked fresh, like it had been done a few days before…or even the night before. As she uploaded the new data into the Drive Driver and grabbed it to take to the hospital, she turned back to look at the sample again as well as the spare Mach Driver. Once she got back, she knew she’d have a new project to work on.

—————————-

“I see that you were successful in separating the human from the Roidmude today but 007 was rescued and your identities were revealed to the public. Will that be a problem for you now?” 

Gou stretched out on the couch and turned to look at Chase. “Eh, I don’t think so. If anything, we’ll have an easier time in fighting since the public knows we’re the good guys. Plus I’ll be perceived as less of a nuisance in the Tokujo Office since everyone there knows now and there is now actually a reason why I was there. We actually have a meeting tomorrow on what we’re going to do about if 007 comes back for that criminal that he fused with.”

Chase nodded. “I think…that might be a good time to let them know I am alive and want to join them. Maybe there also might be a way this Rinna woman and Krim will be able to modify my programming so I won’t be able to be brainwashed again.”

The teen smiled and nodded. “I’ll ease them into telling them and then I’ll send Ride Chaser over to you so you can ride up there. Hopefully you won’t run into any Roidmudes while you’re on your way.”

———————-

Chase had been expecting Ride Chaser at any moment and had watched out of the apartment window for it to arrive. He didn’t expect the case attached to it however, or its contents. He read the note in the case and quickly linked his bike’s system to Ride Macher in order to get a location and headed out, hoping he would get there in time.

———————–

Gou froze in horror as he saw Kiriko fall, unable to do anything to get to her in time. Shinnosuke was too injured from saving Nira from the Sword Roidmude who had sliced his arm, preventing him from transforming without being in intense pain. He was too far away and in no condition to get to the woman in time either.

The Roidmude held up his arm, sword tip raised to where it would pierce Kiriko in the middle of her back and laughed before he was suddenly hit with a black motorcycle and knocked back several feet, breaking the area out of the Density Shift it was in. Kiriko began to fall normally but was caught just in time. 

The woman looked up, her eyes wide when she saw who saved her. “Chase!? You’re alive!?”

Chase looked down at Kiriko and nodded. “You can thank Gou for that.”

“Gou!?”

The Roidmude set Kiriko down and grabbed the black case on the end of his bike. “We will explain later but for now, it’s time to finish this fight using what Rinna has created for me.”

———————

The Riders and Kiriko waited until Nira and the cops assigned to take Taga back to jail had left before Chase undid his transformation. While Shinnosuke and Gou had had their identities revealed, Chase was unsure he wanted his identity know yet, especially since he was concerned his former allies might try to take him back and he wanted to make sure his mind and programming were safe. 

Chase looked at Gou and nodded before turning to Shinnosuke and Kiriko. Before he had a chance to speak, he noticed a familiar presence behind him. The Roidmude whipped around to see Heart a few yards away. He quickly went into a defensive stance in front of the three humans behind him.

Heart’s neutral face turned sad for a moment before going back to normal. “Chase…I see you survived despite Brain and Medic’s reports. I had hoped to find that you were helping our new friend and return home with you…but now I see that you’re…”

The Roidmude began walking to the group, forcing both Mach users to prepare to transform. Heart raised up his hand. “Ah! I’m not here to fight any of you. I was just here to do what I just said…but that isn’t the option anymore. So…”

He walked closer until he was standing in front of Chase and held out a small black car. Chase hesitantly took it, his eyes furrowing at its familiarity.

Krim beeped and gasped. “That’s Speed Prototype! I thought it was destroyed when Proto-Drive was compromised!”

Heart sighed and turned to walk away. “That was one of my spoils I got from taking Chase away from you. But…it’s rightfully his, especially since he’s now made his choice on which side he wants to be on. I will miss you my friend. And don’t worry…we won’t come for you and take you by force. It’s obvious that despite the amount of brainwashing and memory deletion we’ve done to you, those instincts deep in your Core can’t be changed.”

The four waited until Heart left before Kiriko cleared her throat. “Why don’t we go to the Pit and Chase and Gou can finally explain how Chase survived.”


	6. Chapter 6

Gou noticed Chase hesitate slightly before walking in the Drive Pit, where the rest of the team was waiting to welcome their new team member and hear how the mission went. The teen frowned slightly. Although his face didn’t show it and the Roidmude would deny it due to not understanding emotions, as Gou had found out Chase didn’t have a good grasp of during the time they spent with each other, he knew Chase had a deep instinctual fear of the Tokujo members giving him the same treatment the Roidmude commanders gave him. He hoped after a while, Chase would be able to realize they meant him no harm and that he was truly a member of the team.

Rinna had basically leaped on Chase, asking him how the Driver and Signal Bike worked and if his new weapon had any bugs and needing tweaking, forcing Gou to pull Chase away from the mechanic before he got overwhelmed. “Geez Rinna! Let him take a few moments to adjust before playing Twenty Questions on him! We have plenty of time.”

“It’s okay Gou. Miss Rinna, everything worked out perfectly. I am worried about the Signal Ax accidentally hitting people when I summon it from Ride Chaser since it nearly hit Kiriko and Tomari Shinnosuke.”

Rinna nodded and headed to her computer. “That should be a simple fix since it’s based on the technology that separates the Fusion Roidmudes.”

Chase walked over to her computer. “Also, I want to thank you for giving me the tools to start over. I do have a favor to ask of you. Could you possibly be able to repair Speed Prototype? I don’t have many of my past memories left, due to Brain and Medic’s tampering with my programming, but I believe it could have some of my memories stored on it.”

The Roidmude handed Rinna the Shift Car and she gently took it. “I’ll try my best on it Chase. I’ll probably also be able to make it usable as a Shift Car again. It won’t transform you into Proto-Drive like it used to, but it will enhance your speed slightly.”

“Thank you.”

Kiriko came up to Chase and put her hands around one of his arms, forcing the Roidmude to look at her shocked as she led him to the middle of the Pit. Gou saw the brief panicked look in Chase’s eyes and was about to tell his sister to give the Roidmude some space when Kiriko came up to him and dragged him next to Chase. 

“Alright you two, it’s time you tell us how exactly Chase is alive and how you’re involved with it Gou.”

—————

It was late in the day when the two Mach users walked out of the Pit to their bikes outside. Gou raised his arms up to stretch them. “That went better than expected. I’m glad there weren’t too many questions to answer and they just let us talk. Anyway, we should head home unless you want to go out for a drink or something?”

Chase stopped, looking at Gou confused. Gou noticed that the Roidmude wasn’t beside him and turned around. “What’s wrong Chase?”

“Home? You…wish for me to stay with you?”

“Well…yeah? I mean where else are you gonna go? Besides, my apartment is way too big for just me to live there and it’s nice to have someone else there.”

Chase looked down. “Well Krim offered to let me stay at the Pit…”

“Oh no! We’re not going into that route again Chase! The Pit is NO place for you to stay. I know you’re a robot, but you’re NOT staying in a garage, not if I have anything to say about it! Which reminds me… I need to ask Nee-chan if she can borrow the Tokujo van one day soon so we can get that extra bed she has at her apartment. That way we can start fixing up my spare room as a bedroom for you. It won’t be much at first, but we can move a few of my pictures I have on the living room wall in there. I noticed that you like the sunset pic I took in…”

“Gou…”

“Hmm? What is it Chase?”

“Thank you.”

It was barely noticeable, but being the expert photographer with attention to detail that Gou was, the teen noticed the small smile Chase gave him. Gou smiled and put his hand on the Roidmude’s shoulder. “Anytime buddy. Now let’s go home.”

——————-

Unbeknownst to the two, a tall figure had been watching the two as they made their way to their bikes. Heart waited until the two left the parking lot before moving from his hiding spot to leave. He smiled sadly, remembering the smile Chase had given the Mach Rider. In the entire time Chase had been with the Roidmudes, Heart had never seen him smile. He had to give credit to the teen for being able to do that and the kindness the boy was extending, even though Heart knew the intense hatred the Mach Rider had for his kind. 

Heart knew he should have kept his word to leave Chase alone, but after telling Brain and Medic that Chase was alive, the two looked at him shocked. He suspected they probably had something to do with Chase’s current situation, but he didn’t want to accuse them of anything. After all, he was just as guilty for not stopping his two friends from the punishments they had given the purple clad robot. Perhaps…if they had all been kinder to Chase…

The Roidmude sighed. They had had their chance and now it was gone. They had lost a friend and ally. As Heart turned to leave, he hoped Chase would be a formidable foe for them and not hold back.


	7. Chapter 7

Although Chase was able to hear Ride Macher some distance away, the Roidmude still kept checking out the window that overlooked Gou’s and his parking space, hoping that any moment the teen would pull up. He glanced at the clock, noting it was past midnight and he debated going out with Ride Chaser to see if he could locate the boy.

The Fusion Roidmude they had fought for the past few days had taken a toll on the Riders, Gou especially, since he had been targeted into a trap by the Roidmude and had fallen victim to its power. In a way, it had helped Shinnosuke and Chase realize what Seeker’s power and motivations were as well as Gou revealing that he was the son of the man that created the Roidmudes, but it had hurt to have Gou attack him, spewing the hateful words he kept for the Roidmudes at Chase.

Chase knew the teen didn’t mean the words and Gou had repeatedly apologized to him before telling Shinnosuke and him that he needed some time to think and to clear his head, but that knowledge still wouldn’t make the ache in his chest go away that he had started having about a week after staying with Gou. 

The Roidmude looked out the window again before walking away and going in the kitchen to put up dinner, making sure he left a note on the fridge on what could be heated up in case Gou came home after Chase had gone to bed. He decided against trying to find Gou, taking Shinnosuke’s words to heart that Gou needed time to process everything and that he would return when he was ready to come home. Chase hoped it would be soon. Gou had been right…it was very lonely in the apartment without two people there.

———————

Chase’s eyes widened as he saw Gou slowly walk behind Brain and stood beside him before transforming into Mach and start to attack Shinnosuke. Kiriko ran up beside him and hearing her shout her brother’s name snapped the Roidmude out of the shock he was in. He quickly transformed, hoping to diffuse the situation Drive and him had got themselves into. 

They had quickly got away, but the entire time while they were heading back to the Tokujo office and then when Chase returned home, the events of the last few days played over in his mind, especially Gou’s angered looks at him and his apparent betrayal and working with the Roidmudes. Chase furrowed his eyebrows trying to make sense of the situation. He knew Brain was able to rewrite Roidmudes, but humans? Brain was smart, but there was no way he be that intelligent to rewrite and brainwash a human. 

The Roidmude went through his sparse memories, trying to figure out what could have possibly happened when he suddenly remembered the first time Heart had told him about Roidmude numbers and who of their number had achieved the type of evolution that he, Brain, and Medic had. The only one at the time had been 001 who had the power to rewrite human memories.

Chase’s eyes grew wide. It had to have been 001 that had somehow got to Gou if he was working for Brain. Gou KNEW the treatment Brain had given him so there wouldn’t be any reason for the teen to join the enemy’s side unless he was forced into it. He tried to remember who 001 was, knowing that who it was probably had a lot of power if they were responsible for Gou’s predicament and being able to put Brain in a position in the Police Department, but his mind drew a blank. He surmised it was probably something Brain had deleted from his mind.

Glancing at the clock and realizing it was way too late to call the team, Chase heated up some of last night’s dinner, making a note to tell the team about 001′s power. He also knew he had to figure out a way to break Gou out of 001′s grasp, if he was to blame. 

As he ate in silence, he wondered if it was okay if he still stayed in the apartment with Gou not here. He decided to ask Kiriko the next day if he couldn’t ask Gou when he found him and perhaps ask Krim if it was alright for him to stay at the Pit if the two wanted the apartment to stay vacant while Gou was gone. 

———————

After talking with Shinnosuke and telling the team what he knew about 001, Chase decided to release Signal Chaser to find Gou, preferably alone, to see if the teen was being controlled or not. There didn’t seem like there would be any reason for the Mach Rider to join them willingly, but if he had, Chase wanted to at least know why. 

Through the weeks the two shared Gou’s apartment, the Roidmude had grown comfortable in his surroundings, trying to open up more with the teen’s careful patience and guidance for him. Chase felt lost without Gou being there and the pain in his chest was constantly plaguing him. The Roidmude wondered if maybe perhaps his Core got damaged worse than he thought and it just never healed properly. He decided to ask Kiriko if he could use Mad Doctor again on himself when he saw her later. 

Signal Mach suddenly began circling around him, beeping angrily, before flying up and being caught by Gou who was leaning on the railing above him. 

“Oy, this your way of calling me out Chase?” The teen braced himself and jumped down.

“You keep ignoring Kiriko’s calls and you haven’t been home at all. Why have you joined Brain? You know how vicious he is. I don’t want you to…”

“Shut up! I don’t have to tell you anything! Especially since I’m taking you out right now!” 

Gou activated his Driver, forcing Chase to do the same thing. The two transformed and fought, Chase quickly taking the upper hand and forcing Gou out of his transformation. The Roidmude hesitated momentarily before grabbing the boy and forcing Gou’s head to the side. His eyes widened as he saw the snowflake scar, indicating that Gou was under 001′s influence. 

“We’re done here.”

He let go of the teen, concerned that Gou had dropped to the ground hard and was breathing heavily. Chase glanced behind him for a second as he walked off, seeing the boy shaking. 

“We’re not done you coward! Don’t you want to finish me off!? I’ll just keep coming after you!”

The Roidmude took a deep breath and turned back, stopping about a foot away from the teen on the ground, still trying to sit up but failing. From the body language Gou was portraying, the fight they had took a lot out of him, even though it wasn’t as intense as previous battles. 

“Gou…I will not pry on what exactly has been done to you or what you’ve been told…but… I want to extend that the same rule you made for me applies to you. Your apartment is a neutral zone. No one will bother you there. Go there to rest and eat if you are able. I will not bother you if I am there…if you want me there.”

Minutes of silence passed between the two and Chase turned to leave, knowing the teen probably wouldn’t talk to him anymore at this point. 

“You can stay there. I…won’t bother you either.”

————————

“Kiriko, I…confronted Gou earlier today. He…didn’t have a snowflake scar behind his ear. He refused to tell me why he was working with Brain but I’m sure it’s for a good reason and he’ll tell us soon.”

The woman looked up at him, pain in her eyes, and nodded. Chase hated lying to Kiriko, but it was better she didn’t know that Gou’s memories had been altered. If the teen’s memories had turned the Riders into his enemies, he was sure 001 had turned Kiriko into a monster in Gou’s eyes. It was best she stayed away from him for the time being.

“Oh! Rinna and Krim got Proto Speed fixed! Rinna didn’t know if any of your memories were able to be restored, but it can still be used as a Shift Car.” Kiriko handed the car to the Roidmude. He inserted it into the Break Gunner as the woman walked over to Shinnosuke and the young girl they had been protecting.

Chase breathed heavily as memories began rushing through his mind. His activation, the various tests he had gone through, helping Krim with the Drive system, his defeat at the hands of Heart. Years and years of forgotten memories overloaded his mind, forcing the Roidmude to shake and drop to his knees.

“These…are my memories…?”

He shuddered and his body went into auto-pilot, projecting the last memories he had before he had been tortured and brainwashed in the sky for everyone in the vicinity to see. He vaguely heard Shinnosuke gasp and reveal that 001 was actually Soichi Makage, the Secretary of National Defense Bureau. 

As Chase finally got a grasp of his memories a few minutes later, he realized that if they were dealing with a Roidmude so firmly implanted within the police, they’d have to be extra careful with their actions. 

———————-

Chase made his way home a few hours later after having an impromptu meeting with the Tokujo team. He was relieved to see that some of the dinner he made a few nights ago was gone, confirming that Gou had indeed been there. While they were enemies for now, the Roidmude hoped he was able to get the teen back as quickly as possible. He didn’t want Gou to be under the same treatment he had been given by Brain, powerless to stop what was being done to him. More importantly, he missed his friend.


	8. Chapter 8

Gou scarfed down the giant portion of food he had heated himself up, glad that Chase always made enough food for both of them for a few days. It had been a while since he was able to eat a decent meal since pretending to join the Roidmude’s side, especially since both Brain and 001 had him running around and either helping other Roidmudes on their missions or attacking Shinnosuke and Chase.

That last part forced the boy to sit still for a few minutes to let the food in his stomach settle, lest it come back up. He hated not being able to tell his sister or the two Riders, especially Chase, that he wasn’t actually working for the enemy or under 001′s control like Chase had found out earlier that day. 

Gou didn’t know why 001′s power didn’t work on him but he was grateful it hadn’t when the teen realized the trap that Brain and 001 had sprung on him. The back of his head throbbed and Gou raised his hand up to feel the rough outline of the snowflake scar behind his ear. Gou was glad that both Roidmudes had the genius plan of telling him which memories they were going to change, otherwise his plan would have failed the moment he didn’t act the part.

Thinking back through the last few days to the looks Chase had given him caused the pit in his stomach to form again, upsetting the food he had just consumed. It hurt his heart to tell his friend all the hateful things he used to tell the Roidmude back when they were enemies. He just hoped that Chase would one day be able to forgive him.

His phone beeped and Gou picked it up, finding he had a message from Brain to meet him near the docks as soon as he was able. The teen sighed and replied before picking up his dishes and washing them. He quickly changed into a fresh set of clothes and headed out.

—————————-

Gou shakily stood up after expelling the contents of his stomach. He gripped the sides of the sink and let his breathing calm down before splashing water on his face to cool himself off. The teen didn’t dare close his eyes for fear of their faces plaguing his mind. He had fought and shot both of them today, Shin-nii-san and Chase. Although they were both transformed, he could still imagine their faces looking at him in shock and sadness.

Gou grabbed his laptop and quickly uploaded the information he had hacked from Makage’s computers before Brain came back from the meeting he was in and Freeze got back from whatever he was doing. Making sure to triple check that the information couldn’t be traced back to him, Gou hit send in the email he sent to the Tokujo office. He hoped this information would be able to help them in bringing down whatever Freeze was up to.

Closing up the laptop, the teen checked in with one of the Roidmudes that Brain was in charge of, letting him know that he was getting something to eat. He made his way home, finishing off the last of the food Chase had made, noticing by the trash that the Roidmude was eating instant meals instead of the food he was making. Gou frowned, wondering if Chase had realized he hadn’t been eating or just assumed since Brain was involved, that he wasn’t being fed properly. 

Gou took his time in taking a shower, letting the past few days run through his mind. He didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to act out his charade. He hoped Brain would slip up soon, so Gou would be able to finalize his plan. He had to get the Roidmude’s tablet, no matter what.

————————

“Tomari-san!”

Gou stopped his attack, his gun dropping to his side as he stared in shock at his sister and Otta trying in vain to get any movement out of Shinnosuke, both of them screaming out the name they called the Rider. His breathing grew heavy as he stared at the lifeless body, at both Otta and his sister just sitting there in silence when they realized that Shinnosuke was dead. 

The entire plan Gou had made to get Brain’s tablet flew out of his mind as his arm twitched and he turned his eyes toward the glowing Roidmude hovering in the air. Knowing his attacks would be useless, the Mach Rider gripped his gun, about to raise it to shoot Freeze. 

“You monster!”

Purple energy bullets suddenly struck the back of the golden Roidmude and Gou turned his head to see Chase had his Break Gunner out, enacting the same plan the teen had moments before. Freeze turned around, sending an energy blast at the Rider, knocking Chase into a dirt pile a few yards away and forcing him out of his transformation. Gou only had a few seconds to see the pained expression on the Roidmude’s face as well as him clutching his chest before hearing the two Roidmudes beside him laugh and transport them back to their hideout.

————–

He was scum, pure scum. He didn’t deserve to be here anymore. He let Shinnosuke die. He caused his sister to be sad. All because he wanted Brain’s stupid tablet that had information on the Roidmudes. All because of Brain showing him that Banno was in the tablet. Their father had been dead for years…now he only existed in a digital form. He traded the life of a hero of justice for a technically dead man. 

He would never be forgiven, no matter how many times he pleaded his case. If he had been with Shinnosuke and Chase, then they would have been able to deal with Brain and Freeze better. 

Chase… He could never face his friend again. It was a Kamen Rider’s job to protect humans…and he failed miserably. He didn’t deserve to be a Kamen Rider anymore. Getting the tablet was an afterthought now. Gou knew what he had to do. He had to destroy the remaining Roidmudes, tablet or no tablet. Barring Chase, all the Roidmudes would die. And he would die along with them, because after all, he was Banno’s creation as well. He was no better than the Roidmudes, so he must be destroyed as well.


	9. Chapter 9

Chase carefully made his way over to where Kiriko and Otta were sitting next to Shinnosuke’s prone body. Otta was trying hard to keep his composure while he contacted Chief Honganji to let him know what happened and to send a vehicle to retrieve them. 

The Roidmude crouched down and pulled Kiriko close to him, letting her break down in his arms. He didn’t know about sadness yet, having not had a chance to experience it yet, but he knew that when one was grieving, they needed comforting. Chase stayed with the woman the entire time they had been waiting for the coroner and vehicle to transport Shinnosuke’s body to the morgue. 

He carefully led her to Ride Chaser and made sure she was secure, giving her his helmet, and rode off to her apartment. He sat with her for hours, making sure if she needed anything, he’d be right there to get it for her. After repeatedly getting the same answer that she’d be fine, Chase finally left Kiriko alone in her apartment and made the lonely journey home. 

His chest hurt, whether it was from their earlier battle or from what Kiriko had explained to him as “heartbreak”, and he clutched his chest as he entered the darkened apartment. The food he made earlier that morning was untouched, letting him know that Gou had yet to come home to eat. 

Chase furrowed his eyebrows as he thought about the events of the day. Shinnosuke was dead, Gou was still under the influence of Freeze, and he was the only Rider left on the side of justice. He thought back to all the hours he had spent with Kiriko, knowing in his being that it should have been Gou in his place to comfort his sister. 

He grabbed his phone and texted Rinna to meet him in the Drive Pit the next morning. He had a plan to get Gou back and he needed Rinna’s antidote she made. It was a risky move, especially since he would have no backup, but above all else, he had to get Gou back. He owed his very life to the Mach Rider and it was time to repay the favor.

——————————

“Just one spray of this is all that’s needed to restore his memories. Chase…are you sure you want to do this plan now? It’s basically a suicide mission! They could capture you and reprogram you again if not outright kill you!” Rinna hesitantly handed the spray bottle to the Roidmude. 

Chase waited until the woman was sure she would let go and gently took it out of her hand. “I am sure. Shinnosuke is gone and I’m sure with each passing day that we are defenseless, Freeze and the other Roidmudes will just grow in power. Plus, Gou belongs at home with Kiriko. I felt it was not my place to be the shoulder she needed to cry on. It should have been her brother. The least I can do is bring him back, no matter the cost.”

The Roidmude lifted his hand to his chest, feeling his Core ache as he thought about his mission, about Gou. He stood there for a moment, letting the feeling pass, confused on why his Core still hurt since Rinna had used Mad Doctor on him before he explained his plan to her.

“You miss him too, don’t you?”

Chase turned to Rinna, nodding once and clutched the bottle in his hand. “The apartment is too quiet without him there. I…want my friend back as well.”

“Then good luck Chase. You two better come back in good shape. Oh…before you go, got word from the morgue. Apparently they can’t do an autopsy yet because they can’t remove the Driver and Shift Brace from Shinnosuke. Do you know of any way they can be removed safely?”

Chase shook his head. “Krim let me download all the changes he made to the Driver since I used the Prototype system. He made it to where only the user it’s linked to is able to remove the belt and brace if they are alive. Shinnosuke is the only one that is able to remove the Driver.”

“But Chase…the Belt is burnt out and Shinnosuke is dea…” Rinna’s eyes grew wide. “If they can’t remove the belt or brace…that means Shinnosuke is still alive somehow! I…I need to work fast. I think there might be a way to revive him!”

——————————-

Gou hadn’t ate or slept since the previous day. He knew whatever food he tried to eat would immediately come back up and he knew his sleep would be plagued by the events of yesterday. He couldn’t even find a safe place to grieve for fear one of the Roidmudes would follow him and he would be caught. 

His body was on autopilot when Brain came in the makeshift room the Roidmude had given him, motioning for the teen to follow him. Once they met up with Freeze, the Roidmude transported them to the hideout that Heart and Medic were staying at. 

Freeze had wanted to show off his new form to the other evolved Roidmudes, more to gloat than anything. Gou glared at the Roidmude as he showed off the golden form, noticing the expressions of the others. He glanced over to see that Brain was distracted. 

He narrowed his eyes. Freeze had wanted all the Roidmudes to work together now that the Rider threat would be easy to deal with. From what he knew about Brain, Gou knew the Roidmude would get stressed and frustrated at being in the same place as Medic. He seemed to hate her a lot and would get flustered and make mistakes. He smirked. It would be easy to get the tablet once a few days passed. He just hoped the Tokujo team and Chase would be able to hold off until then.

“I’m going for a walk, make sure this hideout’s secure. There’s plenty of places that you could sneak in.”

Gou stood up and began to walk to the entrance of the room when he was suddenly put in a chokehold. He only had a few seconds to realize the arm belonged to Chase and he glanced to the side to see the Roidmude had a spray bottle in his hand with blue liquid. The teen’s eyes widened, wondering what was in the bottle and why Chase was there. 

The bottle suddenly exploded, sending some of the liquid and Chase’s blood to splatter on Gou’s jacket. Chase let go of him to cradle his injured hand and Gou quickly moved to where the rest of the Roidmudes had gathered in the room, rubbing his sore neck. A pit formed in his stomach as he saw Chase standing there alone, injured. 

“So they developed some form of antidote to my power? How futile.” Freeze stood up, walking closer to the Rider. 

“It’s a bold move to return here by yourself while you’re obviously outnumbered Chase.” Heart smiled, moving his arms to power up.

“I’ll take care of this Heart. I want to test out my power again.”

As Freeze took the battle outside, Gou turned to look at Brain. “Brain…this might be a good way to get Chase back on our side. If we pile up on him, we can force him out of his transformation. But…you’ll have to be quick with reprogramming him. Krim and Rinna updated a few programs that will activate after a while that will make it impossible.”

Brain smirked. “Well…I guess we should go help Freeze then.”

———————–

The two Riders leaned against the railing overlooking the water. Chase carefully observed Gou as the teen fidgeted, his fingers tapping against the tablet he stole from Brain an hour before. 

“I…didn’t expect Freeze at all, but I had to keep up the act once I realized his powers didn’t affect me. I…I’m sorry. Everything that’s happened has been the result of my actions.”

“Gou…”

“Brain showed me that this tablet has extensive knowledge on the Roidmudes, all their strengths and weaknesses. He told me that if I worked for him, that he’d give me some of that knowledge, especially about the powered Reapers. I think it was mainly to get rid of Medic so he could go back to Heart. But I never thought I was a big player in their plan until I realized I walked into a trap. They…found out somehow that I was Banno’s son and they wanted to use me as a sick irony of the situation.”

Gou looked at Chase, tears pricking at his eyes as he clutched the tablet and sank down to his knees. “It wasn’t worth it…was it? All that planning, all the deception, all the pain I caused all of you…just to get this stupid thing. Shin-nii-san is dead, Nee-chan’s happiness is destroyed, and…I caused all of you to worry about me. I caused you to risk being reprogrammed or killed just to get me back. It’s my fault everything happened. I shouldn’t…”

The teen stood up, staring at the churning water below him. “Protect her happiness Chase. Protect everyone for me…because I couldn’t.”

Gou dropped the tablet and quickly jumped on the railing, about to push himself off in the water, when he was suddenly grabbed by the jacket and shoved back. The teen only had a few seconds to glare at Chase before the Roidmude punched him in the face, knocking him down. Chase straddled the boy on the ground, grabbing him by the throat.

“Chase! Get off me! Let me-!”

“Do not EVER try that again Gou! Your life is worth just as much, even more, than you think. Do you want to add even more sadness to Kiriko’s life?! You are a true Kamen Rider. Our battles will be tough and we have to do things we don’t want to do but need to be done. Remember that.”

“Chase…”

The Roidmude stepped aside and offered his hand to help the teen up, Gou noticing that Chase offered his left instead of his right. “Is your hand okay? Does it need to be healed?”

“It should be fine in a few days, but I’m more worried about you. Why don’t you go home to eat and rest. You look like you need it.” 

The Roidmude began to walk off, prompting the teen to look at him confused. “And where are you going?”

“Apparently they cannot remove Krim and the Shift Brace from Shinnosuke’s body. That would only happen if Shinnosuke was still alive and I don’t think Krim would be that easy to kill. Rinna concluded that they both may still be alive and his body is in stasis. I’m going to the Pit to help her and let her know that my plan of getting you back had a few complications but we are both fine.”

Gou’s eyes widened and he picked the tablet up. “Wait! Hold on and let me see if there is anything in this that will help with that!”

Chase turned around and nodded. “I’ll go on ahead then and help Rinna get Shinnosuke’s body away from the morgue. Also…we have not run this plan by Kiriko. I think…you would be the best person to tell her. And Gou…I’m glad you’re back. You were right. The apartment is too lonely without two people there.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Gou, it would be wise to chew your food more thoroughly. You’re going to choke at that rate.”

Gou rolled his eyes but complied with Chase’s wish, making sure each bite was converted into mush before swallowing. “Thanks for not telling anyone I’ve got my dad’s consciousness in this tablet. I really don’t see why Krim hates him so much. I mean it’s not like dad meant for the Roidmudes to turn evil. You sure you don’t know anything about the situation?”

Chase shook his head. “Both Rinna and Krim were unsuccessful in retrieving any of my memories before I began helping Krim with the Proto-Drive research and testing. Brain and Medic also deleted vital programs that would have been useful to bring at least some of them back and because they executed so many changes to my body, Krim said I’m basically a different Roidmude than I was originally.”

Gou grabbed the tablet beside him, about to turn it on. “Maybe dad might have a way to repair and re-download those programs in you. I mean…both Krim and he built you. I’m sure he’d have something about your programming in his consciousness.”

The Roidmude reached across the table and put his hand on Gou’s. “As much…as I appreciate the offer, I think perhaps it is best for some things to be left forgotten. I do not know what would happen if those programs were put back and I do not wish to have my body and mind picked apart again, save for occasional maintenance if I feel something is wrong. I…am Chase. That is who I am now. I don’t want to be anyone else, even if it’s who I used to be.”

“Fair enough. I don’t want you to be anyone else either. I’ve gotten use to your face. Anyway, I think we better meet up with the others and compare notes and see if they have any leads on those rampaging Roidmudes. By the way, thanks for sticking by me these last couple of days. It’s been…”

“You were attacked by Heart while you were alone and if I hadn’t been there when we were attacked by 006, you would have been quickly overpowered. While you have Banno in that tablet and are keeping him a secret from Krim and the rest of the Tokujo team, I’m staying by you. I don’t want to see you hurt. You still seem like you’re not fully recovered from everything that’s happened.”

Gou smiled softly. “I’ll be fine Chase, especially once our mission is over. Can’t really afford to relax until then. Don’t worry so much about me. You sound like Nee-chan.”

—————–

“UGH! WHY!? Why did Shin-nii-san have to…!? GAH!”

Chase leaned against the wall of the abandoned warehouse Gou and he were in, calmly watching while the teen tore into the wooden crates strewn around the area with the Signal Ax to let his anger and frustration out. The Roidmude immediately dragged Gou to the area after Shinnosuke left with the cook he arrested.

Shinnosuke had saved Medic from being destroyed by Gou’s attack and as such, Heart had achieved his Super Evolution and had nearly beat the Riders. If not for Banno interfering, the Riders would have been hurt badly.

Chase knew Shinnosuke probably had his reasons for saving the Roidmude, but Gou wouldn’t listen to the cop’s words. Chase knew the teen had a vendetta against the three main Roidmudes, Medic and Brain especially, for the way they had treated him while he was their grim reaper. Chase now knew the way he was treated and used was wrong and while he still didn’t understand the emotions very well himself, he knew Gou’s anger well enough to know how bad it was.

Gou sat down on one of the unbroken boxes after thirty minutes, catching his breath. Chase walked over to him and handed him his bag while Gou handed the Signal Ax back to its owner. “Thanks for letting me borrow your ax.”

“Feel better?”

Gou leaned back, laying on top of the box. “A little bit. I just…don’t understand why Shin-nii-san would save her, especially when he knows what she did to you. It’s just…ugh…”

Chase sat down on the box and turned to look at the teenager. “I do not understand Shinnosuke’s reasons myself, but there may be more to the situation than we realize. Anyway, if you’re done here, then let’s go home. Remember, we have a Driver’s License test we’ve got to study for and I need to start on dinner.”

Gou sat up, groaning. “Ugh, remind me why again Nee-chan convinced both of us to do this? Getting my license in America was a nightmare. I don’t want to go through it again.”

“That is precisely the reason Gou. Your American one won’t work here and since you’ve decided to stay in Japan, you need a Japanese one. Besides, Ride Crosser is actually classified as a Medium 4-wheeled vehicle and we both need a legal license to drive it. Plus, it would help Shinnosuke if we both were able to drive Tridoron in case something comes up. Also…I’ve been driving Ride Chaser around illegally without a license and I’d like to correct that wrong.”

“And…the fact that it’s hard to say no to my sister.”

“Be grateful that she was able to get us into an advanced program to get them quickly.”

——————–

Chase inwardly frowned and his chest grew tight as he stared briefly out of the rear view mirror, seeing Gou surrounded by Roidmudes and struggling to fight them. Each of the Roidmudes 006 had sent after them had a different fighting style than the ones they were used to fighting. After 006′s initial attack, Chase had searched around for the particular moves the Roidmude had used, finding that 006 had taken on the appearance of a Japanese martial artist and Wushu master. The Roidmudes that followed him probably had taken on the human appearances of other martial artists, so Chase made sure to study the moves in case it was needed.

Chase knew he risked points being taken off for his stunt in parking the car, but Gou was more important to him than being able to drive legally. He’d rather walk than see his friend hurt when he could have been there to prevent it.

The Rider made quick work of the three Roidmudes, noticing 006 had fled, and turned to Gou. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”

The teen quickly got behind Chase and pushed him back toward the car. “Go finish your test! I’m fine, don’t worry!”

Chase un-transformed and turned to look at Gou, who had also canceled his transformation. “Are you sure you’re fine?”

“Yes! Go you idiot! If you fail this, Nee-chan will beat both of us up.”

————————-

He had passed his test, surprisingly getting points for his stunt since he pulled off a perfect parallel park. Along with his perfect written test, Chase had passed every part of getting his license. All the Roidmude had to do now was wait in line to get his picture taken and his information typed on his card and then wait to have the card made. The process would take a few hours and Chase now understood why the people in line were cranky for having to stand so long. He made a mental note to keep Gou entertained while the teen was in line, so the boy wouldn’t go crazy.

Just as he was about to get his picture taken, his phone went off, signalling that he had a message. Chase’s eyes furrowed as he read the message Gou sent, letting him know that Banno was now working with the team and he helped find the location of the kidnapped women and to get there as quick as he could.

Chase replied quickly, before his face was grabbed and he was suddenly staring into the face of a young, angry man.

“You done talking to your boyfriend or girlfriend because I have a lot more people and pictures to go through today and not all of them are going to be as good looking as you.”

The Roidmude stared at the man wide-eyed and nodded, earning him an angered sigh as the man stomped back to his camera.

“Alright, just stand there and look at the camera and….GAH! No no no no no! You are just way too… emotionless! I know you have to look expressionless for these…but YOU…you’re way too…. Smile for me!”

Chase turned his lips up slightly, mimicking the soft smile Kiriko sometimes gave him.

“NO! More! Smile more!”

Chase thought for a moment and turned his lips up more, copying the bigger smile Shinnosuke used.

“MORE! GIVE ME FEELING! GIVE ME HAPPINESS! THINK OF THE THING, THE PERSON YOU LIKE THE MOST! RADIATE THAT HAPPINESS AND GIVE ME THAT SMILE!”

The Roidmude stood there as he thought about what would be considered to make him happy from how Gou described it to him. His chest throbbed as he thought about his life now and who made him feel that happiness from what he perceived it as. Gou’s toothy smile when he was excited about something popped into his head.

Chase took a deep breath and looked up, imitating his friend’s smile as best he could.

“That’s it! That’s what I want! THIS IS PERFECT!”

—————-

“Sorry about Masahiro, he gets a bit excited about picture taking sometimes. Anyway, everything is in order, so here’s your license! And might I say, you have a very nice picture!”

Chase carefully took his new license out of the woman’s hand, staring at his picture for the first time. He smiled softly before putting it in his jacket pocket. Checking his phone for the area he needed to drive to one last time, he exited the building and plugged the coordinates in Ride Chaser, glad he was now able to drive the motorcycle legally.


	11. Chapter 11

Gou had immediately went to his room once the two got back home from helping Shinnosuke defeat Tornado, leaving Chase to himself in the rest of the apartment. The Roidmude decided to read some of the manga that Gou had on his bookshelf, waiting for the teen to emerge to talk to him.

Gou came out a few hours later, his eyes red and puffy, but he didn’t look exhausted like he had been when they got home, letting Chase know that the boy had also taken a nap during that time. Chase ordered pizza for the two of them to free up his time since he was sure the two needed some quality talk time.

After they had finished eating, the two made their way to the living room, Gou curling up on the opposite end of the couch Chase was sitting on. The boy remained silent for several minutes, Chase casually glancing at the teen as he waited for Gou to speak.

“A…are you sure you don’t remember anything about your time with Krim and…him?”

Gou had barely spoken above a whisper, but with Chase’s advanced hearing, he was able to hear everything the boy said.

“I do not Gou. The memories are lost to me for good. I take it that you are conflicted about your feelings on my answer.”

Gou looked over to Chase, making sure the Roidmude had his full attention on him, and nodded. “He…Banno…tortured Heart.”

“I know. I do not know the details, but I am aware Banno had hurt Heart in some way to justify his hatred.”

“What if…Banno had done the same to you like he did to Heart? And you don’t remember… I just… Knowing that it could have happened to you too…”

Chase reached over to gently tug at Gou’s sleeve, motioning for the teen to get closer and had Gou lay down on the pillow in the Roidmude’s lap. Chase began to stroke the boy’s hair, calming him down.

“Whether or not on if it happened, it’s been years since that time. It is probably for the best that I do not remember since I do not know what I would have done to the tablet he was housed in if Banno had hurt me. And I would rather not fight you if that had been the case, since you had risked so much to get your father back from the enemy.”

“B…but he lied to me…he used me…used us. He only wanted to get close to Krim’s systems to steal them. How can I justify myself as a Rider when I just basically gave our enemy everything in our arsenal? How can any of you still trust me after all I’ve done? Why don’t any of you hate me?”

Chase made sure Gou had turned so the two were looking at each other in the eyes. “I said it to you that day we revived Shinnosuke and then that night when we did our “heart to heart” talk. You are a true Kamen Rider. Our battles will be tough and we have to do things we don’t want to do but need to be done.There will always be obstacles we’ll have to overcome, but as long as you and your teammates have each other’s backs, we’ll be able to take whatever is thrown at us. And…I could never hate you Gou. Not after everything you’ve done for me. You saved my life when you could have just as easily left me to die in that warehouse or finished me off yourself. I trust you.”

Gou leaned up and smiled softly. “Thank you Chase. I just… It feels like today…was the first day I actually took those words to heart from you. You know…you were the first person that mattered to me that called me that… a Kamen Rider. Even Nee-chan and Shin-ni-san haven’t really acknowledged me as that. But right now, the fact that you believe in me…that’s all that matters. As long as someone believes…that will give me the strength to keep going.”

“I am glad to hear that Gou, that you believe in yourself. I was…worried about you these last few weeks. It hurt to not know how you were doing. I’m glad everything is resolved and all that’s left is to defeat the rest of the Roidmudes and Banno."

“Speaking of… our fight today was amazing! I never thought you could use one of Tridoron’s other forms with the Ride Boosters. That was ingenious thinking there Chase.”

“I was only able to accomplish it because I got my license and could drive Tridoron. By the way, you still need to get yours. I’m sure you’ll be able to take the test in a few days since you missed your test today.”

“Yeah…to be honest, I don’t think I would have been able to pass the test today with so much going on. As it is, I’m pretty terrible with anything with more than two wheels. At least I know I’ll pass the motorcycle part if anything. So…can I see your license? Those photos are notoriously bad. I wanna see if they managed to make you even more expressionless than normal.”

Chase furrowed his eyebrows as he reached in his pocket and handed the license to Gou. “But…I was told to smile…”

Gou’s heart skipped a beat and he grew silent as he saw Chase’s smiling face in his photo. His eyes lingered on the picture, taking in the detailed emotion in the Roidmude’s face. He didn’t realize he had been staring that long until Chase carefully took back the license and the teen looked up to see the real deal looking at him with worry. His cheeks grew red and Gou quickly looked away, embarrassed for being mesmerized by Chase’s smile.

“Is…it bad? The photographer and the woman that created my license said they liked it.” The Roidmude looked down at the piece of plastic in his hands, looking confused.

“No Chase, it’s not a bad picture. It’s a wonderful picture in fact! I just was surprised. I’ve never seen you smile. It’s a nice one!”

“I tried to emulate the way Kiriko and Shinnosuke smile but it was not enough for the photographer, so I tried to recreate the way you smile when you are excited. Was that okay?”

Gou smiled softly and he laid his head down on Chase’s shoulder, staring back at the license. “Of course Chase. But now that I know you’ve got a nice smile, I expect to see more of it. Alright?”

————————

Gou leaned on the railing that was on top of the driving school’s roof, waiting for his sister and Shinnosuke to get off work and for Chase to get through with an errand Rinna had him help her with since the Roidmude was able to drive the van the group sometimes used. The teen smiled as he remembered Chase taking half an hour to determine the best position on the van to attach his Beginner Driver magnet.

Gou held up his newly acquired license, grateful for not getting the crazy photographer Chase had got during the process. He was surprised he had passed the practical car examination, but chalked it up to the increased use of Ride Crosser.

“So you were able to get your license today! That’s great Gou!”

The teen looked up to see the three people he was waiting for walking up to him. He smiled and put his license in his wallet before putting it in his bag. “Yeah. Sorry it took a few days to get but…well you know.”

Kiriko walked up to him and threw her arms around him. “I’m just glad you’re back. Truly back. I missed my energetic little brother.”

Gou wrapped his arms around his sister and returned the hug. “Yeah…I’m back. And I know now what I need to do. I need to focus on defeating our father, no matter what. And I know that we’ve all got each other’s backs on this. We’re all in this together.”

Shinnosuke came up and ruffled Gou’s hair before capturing him in a half-hug. “Glad to hear it Gou. There’s no one else besides the three of you that I would want by my side.”

“Shinnosuke, you and Gou are no different than actual brothers. Family…that’s what I see you all as. I see now that family bonds are some of the most powerful that can be formed. You are all fortunate to have this despite the pain and strife I have witnessed from all three of you.”

Gou looked up after hearing what Chase said and smiled. “Well…in that case, get over here and join our family hug! You’re part of this family too!”

The Roidmude looked at the three in confusion. “You…consider me family?”

Gou chuckled and walked over to drag Chase to the others. “Of course Chase! We all care about you just like I know you care about us!”

Chase’s chest throbbed and he smiled softly as he embraced by the three.


	12. Chapter 12

Gou was already in the office with Kyu when Shinnosuke and the others got back from the hospital. Their faces were grim, Otta’s most of all, as they explained what happened and that they had to leave Rinna behind. 

Kyu began to type in the data the others collected, trying to piece together why all the women had been stricken with comas. “It appears that their brain wavelengths are the same, honing in on a certain emotion. But what?”

Kiriko looked around the room. “Well Rinna did say something about missing someone. Someone named…Shou?”

Kyu began typing, searching the cameras. “Maybe the emotion is love and each of these women love and miss someone dearly. I’ll look into it once I go over the rest of the surveillance cameras.”

Chase furrowed his eyes. “Someone they…love? Like a family member?”

Kiriko smiled softly. “I think it’s more than that. It’s love on a more romantic level. A boyfriend or girlfriend. A lover.”

“A…lover? What is that?”

Otta draped his arm around Chase’s shoulders, a wistful look on his face. “Why Chase… a lover makes your heart shine, they are the sun to your moon. When they are gone, your world turns dark and cold. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Damn you Medic! How could you do this to my beautiful and innocent Rinna!”

The Roidmude glanced over to the older man as he wallowed on the ground, pounding the floor and gave off his annoyed, confused look to the rest of the group. “I don’t understand.”

Both Kiriko and Shinnosuke were about to comment, when Kyu gasped. “I found another camera angle! It appears Banno in his belt form was there at the hospital as well!”

A loud slam startled everyone and they all turned to see Gou push his chair angrily away from the table and quickly stand up, rushing out of the room. 

Kiriko moved to run after him, but Chase stopped her with his arm. “I’ll handle him Kiriko. I know he is your father as well, but I know that he doesn’t want you involved in this for fear of you getting hurt. Focus on your case, I’ll focus on Gou.”

The woman nodded and went back to Kyu’s computer and Chase rushed out of the room, hoping to catch up to the teen. 

The Ride Macher wasn’t by Chaser when Chase walked out of the building and the Roidmude sighed, touching the display on his bike to pick up on where the white bike and its owner was since the two bikes were connected. A minute later, the map popped up, letting Chase know Gou was heading to an area a few miles away. 

Making sure he had everything, Chase set out to catch up with Gou.

——————————–

Chase pointed his Break Gunner at the black Drive belt, frustrated and angry that he was too late in preventing Gou from getting hurt. Although he didn’t want any of the Roidmude Commanders near the teen as well, he was grateful Heart was there, even if Heart was only there to stop Banno and save Medic. 

Heart had left as quickly as he arrived and Chase quickly walked over to Gou, checking him over. “Are you okay Gou? Is Mad Doctor required?”

Gou growled as he walked over to retrieve his gun. “How is he so powerful?! He’s just a BELT. How could he amplify Medic’s power that much?! If that wasn’t the case, I could have easily killed two birds with one stone!”

The Roidmude looked at the teenager, confusion on his face. “They…are not birds though…”

Gou looked up and his face softened. “It’s…an expression Chase. It means to solve two problems at one time with a single action. And I’m fine. Just a bit banged up. Maybe a few bruises tomorrow, but nothing serious. Thank you though, for worrying.”

“I care about you and your well-being Gou. I do not wish to see you get hurt. If we are done here, we should report to Shinnosuke on our encounter and see if he has learned anything new about the case.”

——————————–

Chase stood in front of a large cabinet on the other side of the room while Shinnosuke and Kiriko talked to the young man that Gou had nearly bumped into while he stormed out of the hospital. He kept trying to focus on the conversation, but his thoughts kept drifting to Gou and the Roidmude hoped the teen would be okay by himself for the time being.

The man had called the woman that looked like Medic his girlfriend and Chase’s attention perked up. He furrowed his eyebrows. There was one of those words that he didn’t understand. Girlfriend had to do with romantic love, an aspect that the Roidmude didn’t understand, unlike familial love. 

The last case before the one they were working on now fully cemented Chase’s understanding about love between family members and introduced the Rider to other emotions through the Super Evolved Angel Roidmude’s power. With her defeat, Chase lost the connection to easily understand and experience new emotions. He was grateful for the fact that he was able to remember the feelings he had with the ones he was able to experience and was still able to feel them somewhat. 

“Chase, we’re going out to get some fresh air.”

Chase looked up to see the room empty save for him and Kiriko. The Roidmude nodded and followed her out of the room.

——————

Chase waited until Kiriko was distracted before lightly touching Shinnosuke on the shoulder. He had decided that he would ask both about romantic love, but with a one-on-one conversation. He deduced that men and women probably had different explanations about romantic love and didn’t want either answer to be influenced by the other. 

“Shinnosuke, can we talk?”

The cop walked off a little ways from Kiriko and turned to look at Chase. “What’s up?” 

“Boyfriends and girlfriends. Lovers. Romantic love. What…is it?” 

Shinnosuke saw the conflict in Chase’s eyes, signalling to him that the Roidmude had probably been thinking about this the entire day. He paused, trying to think of the right words to tell Chase so the Roidmude could understand and grasp on to what it meant. 

“Well…it’s like…when you look at a person or think about them, you get this…twinging pain in your chest…kind of. It’s like your heart aches for that person and you want to be with them and care about them deeply.”

“…Twinging in the chest…” 

Chase’s hand twitched and he began to raise it as his mind raced at what Shinnosuke had told him. Could the twinging he had all this time have been…

Otta running down the stairs snapped the Roidmude out of his thoughts and he turned to look at the older man. 

“So the girl is definitely Misuzu but I couldn’t find anything about her disappearance. Maybe the last person she was with could clue us in.” 

Kiriko noticed the male dancer’s picture next to Misuzu’s before looking up at the others. “Since Kazuya’s her boyfriend, perhaps he was with her before she… They’re gone!”

Everyone turned to look at the vacant spot that Kazuya and Misuzu were just at moments before. 

“We’ve got to find them!” Otta began running down the stairs, followed closely by Shinnosuke. 

Kiriko began running down, but the recess of her boot heel caught in the step, tripping her and she began to fall. 

“Kiriko!” Chase rushed passed her, momentarily setting off a small Density Shift to slow her fall, and easily caught the woman. He gave her a few seconds to calm down and even out her breathing before letting go of her and helping her down the last few stairs.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. Thank you Chase. That would have been a pretty nasty fall if you hadn’t caught me.”

“I do not wish to see the people I care about harmed, especially who I call family. Although… Kiriko, when this case is over, I wish to ask you about something in private.” 

“Of course Chase. Anything you need.” 

Kiriko rushed off after Otta and Shinnosuke and Chase raised his hand to his chest. “This…twinging… After all this time… Could it be…that I…”


	13. Chapter 13

The ending of the case involving Medic’s human and Medic herself gaining her Super Evolution confirmed Chase’s belief that he indeed had feelings for Gou on the romantic level that was described to him. However, he was still unsure on how to act on those feelings. There was still much to learn about romance, and while he had a read on how Shinnosuke, Otta, and Medic had portrayed it as being, the fact that all three had a different explanation confused him.

The opinion he really needed was Kiriko’s. He concluded that since Kiriko knew Gou best, she would be the best to ask her description of romantic love as well as the best way to confess his feelings for the teen if she knew what was going on.

Getting her alone to talk to her was proving to be a difficult task however. Chase didn’t want to take her away from helping Shinnosuke with his cases and he couldn’t really stay away from Gou for too long due to his latest injuries from Banno. The Roidmude felt guilty for backing Shinnosuke up instead of Gou and made it his mission to help the boy recover as well as vowing to make sure Gou didn’t get hurt that badly again.

———————–

Chase was leaning over the railing of the Driving Center, waiting for Gou’s motorcycle to pull up, when he heard the door creak and Kiriko stepped on the roof. She immediately saw him and quickly walked over to him.

“Have you seen Tomari-san? I’ve been trying to find him everywhere! We need to go over some information Lt. Otta just brought back from First Division.”

Chase shook his head and watched as the woman huffed and turned around, about to walk back in the building.

“Wait… Kiriko… I’ve been meaning to ask you something when you had a free moment and no one else was around.”

Kiriko turned around and smiled softly. “Well, I can’t do anything until I find Tomari-san, so ask away. I remember you wanted to ask me something the other day. Is what you want to ask me what that was?”

Chase furrowed his eyebrows before sternly looking at her. “Partially Kiriko. My original question changed somewhat. The truth is…”

To the human ear, the crunching sound would have been near inaudible, considering the sounds of cars running were right below them, but Chase’s advanced hearing recognized the sound of Shinnosuke biting into his candies. He looked up, noticing the cop was on smaller roof portion, looking down at them and looking worried. 

Shinnosuke’s face looked similar to the look Chase had knew he had given Gou a few times and Chase’s eyes widened slightly. 

“Actually Kiriko, I will ask you later. Shinnosuke is behind you, but I need to confirm a few things with him on a matter he was helping me with. I will send him your way when we are done.”

The Roidmude grabbed Kiriko by the arm and gently pushed her back inside, making sure to watch her descend the stairs before acknowledging the Rider peeking behind the door. 

“Shinnosuke, we need to talk.”

————————————–

There were a few terse minutes of silence as the two men sipped their preferred beverages in the Driving School’s cafeteria. Chase noticed Shinnosuke was apprehensive and on the edge. The Roidmude lowered his water glass.

“Are you in love with Kiriko?”

Chase hadn’t expected to be splashed with Shinnosuke’s orange juice, a result of the cop spilling his drink all over himself and the surrounding area.

Shinnosuke jumped up, glaring hard at the Roidmude. “D-don’t be an idiot Chase! I don’t-!”

“Do not feign ignorance at the question Shinnosuke. I saw the way you stared at us as I was trying to talk to Kiriko. It is the same look of love I have verified myself as having as well based on what was described to me. If that is not a look of romantic love, then what is it?”

“Don’t be ridiculous Chase! I don’t like Kiriko like THAT!”

The Roidmude watched as the man in front of him became more flustered, spilling water all over the floor and himself as he kept denying the fact he liked Kiriko and describing the woman’s bad habits before jumping up and poking Chase in the chest.

“Besides Chase, she’s… Wait…did you say you had the same look I have? Does that mean you like-?”

“Chase likes who?”

Chase mentally made a note to stay far away from anyone he was talking to that had a drink in their hand so as not to get splashed with said drink. Shinnosuke’s water had made a new home on his jacket and pants and the Roidmude knew he’d have to find a vacant place to digitize his clothes dry.

Kiriko looked at the two men in confusion, noticing the intense stare Chase was giving her as well as the fact Shinnosuke wouldn’t look her in the eyes. “Um…are you two done talking? We’ve got a lot of work to do. Tomari-san?”

“Yes! Work! We must get our work done! Let’s get right on that!” 

Chase watched as Shinnosuke grabbed his jacket, giving the Roidmude another glare and still refusing to look Kiriko in the eyes. 

“By the way Chase, you are wrong. So wrong!” 

The two walked out and Chase began cleaning up Shinnosuke’s mess. “So…he DOES like Kiriko…but if Kiriko feels the same way yet they act this way toward each other…I don’t think they would be of any help to me to confess my feelings. Perhaps I should take the risk.”

——————————

Gou walked up to Chase as the Roidmude was checking over his bike. “Hey Chase, wanna go get a drink or something as we wait for the Signal Bikes to get done? I’m buying.”

Despite a million thoughts running through the teen’s head, Gou was unable to form the words he wanted to say to the Roidmude sitting opposite of him. Gou didn’t know how it happened, but the few days that Chase has taken care of him last was starting to confirm things for the boy, especially since overhearing which emotion Chase was starting to try to understand in the last few days.

Gou glanced at Chase quietly sipping his water, sitting in a way that mirrored that Mach Rider’s posture. He smiled softly, taking another sip of his drink to moisten his throat. Gou turned slightly to look at Chase better, getting ready to tell Chase what had been growing inside him for weeks.

“Gou. I need to tell you something important.”

The teen looked up in surprise, a pit trying to form in his stomach. “Wh…what is it Chase?”

“From my talks with Shinnosuke and from what Lt. Otta and Medic have described, I think I have a grasp of what romantic love is. With confirmation of Shinnosuke’s love for Kiriko, I have concluded that I am experiencing the same feelings as well.”

The pit in Gou’s stomach grew upon hearing Chase’s words. “Oh…that’s… That’s great Chase! But if Shin-nii-san is in the running as well, then you better up your game of winning Nee-chan’s love. She’s a difficult one!”

The teen abruptly stood up, spilling his drink over his pants. “I’d…I’d better go clean this up or it’ll stain…”

“Wait… Gou… I didn’t mean…”

Gou knew Chase was talking to him but the teen was too lost in his own thoughts to pay attention. He quickly walked out of the cafeteria, close to tears. He was happy for Chase falling for his sister, but the pain of rejection, even if he hadn’t confessed his feelings, hit him hard. 

———————

Chase set his glass down and stared at the remains of Gou’s drink dripping off the table and onto the floor. He frowned as he bent down and began to clean the mess Gou left. 

“That didn’t go well. Perhaps I do need Kiriko’s help on this matter.”


	14. Chapter 14

Gou knew there was something Chase wanted to tell him as they walked in silence through the hospital hallways on the way to Kiriko’s room, but the Roidmude only brought up the fact they needed to find Brain as quickly as possible and that he hoped Kiriko was okay.

The twinge in the teen’s heart hurt as Chase mentioned his sister and for once in his life, resented the older woman for capturing the interest of the one he had fallen in love with. He numbly nodded as they rounded the corner and found Shinnosuke sneakily peering into a room, his hands full of gifts for Kiriko.

All of Gou’s bitter thoughts left him for a few seconds as he snorted, realizing that Chase had been right in figuring out Shinnosuke actually liked his sister but wouldn’t admit it.

“Quit being a stalker and go see her Shin-nii-san!”

The red Rider jumped and stared wide-eyed at the other two before quickly walking up to the two and thrust the various items he carried in Chase’s arms. “Chase! Excellent timing! I’ve got important police things that came up so you’ve got some time with Kiriko to yourself! Come on Gou!”

Shinnosuke grabbed Gou by the arm and quickly pulled him across the hallway and entered a side door, despite the younger man protesting. 

Gou pulled his arm out of the man’s grasp. “Shin-nii-san, what was that about? Just admit you like my sister! Don’t let Chase-”

“I don’t! I don’t like her like that! Don’t be like Chase and accuse me too! What is with you two? Besides… we have to stop Banno’s plans for his Global Freeze! That takes priority over everything.”

The man stomped down the stairs, leaving Gou to shake his head before he slid down the door, putting his head in his hands. He had hoped that by seeing Shinnosuke by Kiriko’s room, that the man would just swallow his pride and go see her, leaving him and Chase to give them some alone time and that the Roidmude would finally tell him what was on his mind, even though Gou really didn’t want to hear it.

The fact that Shinnosuke was basically giving up and pushing Chase and Kiriko together tore the teen’s heart up more. Tears pooled in Gou’s eyes as he remembered the last few weeks and when he realized he had started to fall for the Roidmude.

It had been after Chase had defeated Angel and the emotions he had experienced and expressed the entire time were gone. It had warmed Gou’s heart to finally see the Roidmude smiling and laughing and actually looking and feeling happy, so when the emotions were gone and Chase had reverted back to his stoic self, Gou had made his mind up that no matter what, he’d help Chase regain those feelings he had through any means. 

The weeks following Angel’s defeat had a huge boost of defeating Roidmudes, both with the three Riders and the fact that there was now a team of highly trained soldiers using some of Rinna’s weapons. When it was revealed that there were only a fourth of the Roidmudes left, it had got Gou to thinking about what would Chase do when they were all defeated. 

Chase had grown immensely since the two first met and when the Roidmude decided to fight for the side of good, and thinking of what would happen to him once the fighting was over formed a pit in the boy’s stomach. He didn’t want Chase to leave and with each Roidmude defeated, the concern of Chase’s fate grew in the teen until one day he woke up realizing the obvious.

Gou realized his tears had started to fall when his face grew wet and clammy and the teen curled up, hugging himself. He hadn’t wanted to say anything to the Roidmude about his feelings, since Chase didn’t know about romantic love yet and had been overjoyed when he had started questioning about it with Medic’s human’s case, but he knew now that it was too late and he had missed his chance. 

———————–

“The flowers are very pretty! Thank you Chase! Thank you for the other things as well.” Kiriko opened up the cake box and took the two pieces of cake out and set them on her bed table.

The Roidmude nodded and sat down beside Kiriko’s bed. “I am just glad you were not harmed badly. I know Gou and Shinnosuke were very worried about you as well. They were both here but…Shinnosuke had police work to do and took Gou with him. Although…I am glad we are alone since I need to ask you something important.”

Kiriko smiled after she finished the bite of her cake. “That’s right! You’ve been wanting to ask me about something while we were alone for a while now! So, what’s on your mind?”

Chase sighed and looked at Kiriko in the eyes. “You know I’ve been trying to learn more about human emotions, especially since the incident with the Angel Roidmude. With the Medic case, I believe I’ve learned most of what I can about romantic love. And from what I’ve learned, I…believe I’ve fallen in love…with Gou.”

The woman stayed silent as she stared at the Roidmude, processing all that Chase had told her. She knew Chase was sincere about his confession and knew there was more he needed to know. “Chase…”

The Roidmude closed his eyes and began to stand up to leave. “I apologize. I was reluctant on asking your help on this since he is your brother but I figured since you knew him best… I’ve made you uncomfortable. Just forget what I said and I will do my best to delete the feelings from my mind.”

Kiriko grabbed his arm, forcing the Roidmude to look at her. “Wait, Chase! I’m not mad or uncomfortable! What do you need to know exactly? I’ll try my best to help. Is it how to approach him with this?”

Chase sat back down and leaned closer. “Yes. I do not know how to tell him. I…tried to explain how I felt to him just a few hours ago, but he did not understand and he got the wrong information in what I was trying to tell him, so I believe I need help.”

“What got him confused? It’s not hard to understand a simple confession.”

The Roidmude furrowed his eyebrows. “I believe my problem is trying to give too much information to explain myself. I believe he’s under the impression that I like you romantically. I do not know how he came under that conclusion, but…while I do like you, it feels more like the relationship that Gou and Shinnosuke have for each other. Like a sibling.”

Kiriko smiled, squeezing Chase’s arm. “I feel the same way Chase. And I think you solved your own problem. Just go for it. Just straight up tell him that you like him romantically.”

“But what if he doesn’t feel the same way?”

“I don’t know what will happen, but I do know that either way, if he likes you the same way or not, that you will still remain friends regardless of this. He cares about you a lot Chase and while it may not be romantically, he still loves you.”

Chase smiled softly and accepted the cupcake Kiriko handed to him. “Thank you Kiriko. The next time I see him, I will tell him how I feel. Without the long explanation. By the way…speaking of love, I do have another question to ask you.”

“Okay…what is it?”

“Are you in love with Shinnosuke?”

Chase made a mental note to tell the nurse in charge that the patient in Room 247 needed a bedsheet and gown change as he watched the flustered woman pour and spill her pitcher of water and get cake all over herself and bedsheets. He wordlessly handed his cupcake back to Kiriko and marveled how the woman was able to eat the entire thing and keep talking and cursing about all the faults Shinnosuke had and denying having any romantic feelings for the man.

Chase stood up, shaking his head softly as he walked toward the door. “I thought so…”

“Thought what?! Chase? Chase!? You thought what!? What do you know that I don’t!? CHASE!”

————–

After telling the nurse about Kiriko’s predicament, Chase walked outside to his bike. His phone went off, indicating he had a text message. Lt. Otta’s team had found the location the Roidmudes were at. After getting the location, Chase jumped on his bike and drove quickly to rendezvous with the others.


	15. Chapter 15

Chase groaned as he carefully sat up, rubbing his shoulder where Gou had forcefully hit him to knock him away from 004′s explosion. He took in his surroundings, noticing that he was in the dense forest several feet from the lake. Standing up and making sure there were no pressing injuries, he made his way back to the explosion site to find the others.

004′s explosion made a huge crater in the ground and the surrounding area had signs of burn damage with some of the dry brush still smoking. Luckily, part of the explosion had hit the water and had doused the area so there was no threat of a fire breaking out. 

Chase began walking in the direction of where Shinnosuke had probably been thrown since he was unsure of where Gou would have ended up. He was worried about the teen, but knew that Dead Heat’s Berserk Mode would have allowed Gou to easily escape the blast in time. 

As he walked through the brush and trees, he thought back to the exchange Heart, Brain, and Medic had during Brain’s final moments. It was obvious to him that the three had evolved emotionally from the time he was with them. As he thought of Brain’s last words, he smiled sadly as he compared the Roidmude’s situation with his own. He could tell Brain loved Heart deeply, yet the Roidmude had been unable to tell Heart that before he died. Chase took a deep breath as he thought of the upcoming battle he knew was coming. As soon as he was able to, he HAD to tell Gou his feelings. He didn’t want the same situation to happen to them.

—————————————

Chase found Shinnosuke just as the human was waking up and helped the shaken Rider stand up. 

“Where’s Gou?”

“I know he was fast enough to escape the blast, but I was unsure of which direction he would have gone. I decided to find you first since I knew the general location of where you would have ended up.”

The two walked in silence around the area as they looked around, trying to find some clue as to where Gou had gone.

Shinnosuke cleared his throat as he glanced over to Chase. “So…how was Kiriko? Is she doing okay?”

Chase sighed as he looked over to the cop. “She is well and enjoyed the presents. But…you really should have seen her yourself Shinnosuke. However…I was finally able to talk to her in private about a personal matter, so I am glad it was just the two of us. She was very happy and supportive and told me to go for it. I shall do it once Gou and I have a private moment. I would like to tell him before the upcoming battle if possible, especially since I do not want to end up in the situation Brain had with Heart.”

Shinnosuke furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Chase confused. “Chase…what are you…?”

“I am in love with Gou. I wish to tell him how I feel about him before anything else happens.”

Shinnosuke stopped in his tracks, looking at the Roidmude wide-eyed. “You…you’re in love with Gou!? That’s who you were talking about back in the cafeteria!?”

“Yes. I believe I have loved him for quite some time, based on the definitions of romantic love I have been given.”

“But…but… what about Kiriko? I thought she was the one…you…”

“I love her in the same way you love Gou, like a sibling. Gou thought the same thing you did, so that is why it is important to tell Gou my feelings and explain the misunderstanding to him as quickly as possible. I…don’t think he really liked the aspect of me liking his sister, despite his response he gave me, even if it was a just a poor choice of words I made. He seems to be avoiding me since then. I wish to rectify the situation.”

——————————

The two found Gou several minutes later, sitting up against a large tree, lightly sleeping. Chase barely touched him before the teen’s eyes shot open and stared exhaustively at Chase’s worried face. The Roidmude helped the boy up, noticing it took Gou a bit longer to stand up than normal.

“I’m fine Chase, just a bit tired. That stunt I pulled zapped my energy. Once I rest a bit, I’ll be good to go.”

Shinnosuke put his hands on the two’s shoulders. “We should get back to the Pit. With Banno thinking we’re dead, there’s no telling what he’ll try to pull now that he thinks we’re no longer a threat.”

The two nodded in agreement and the Riders quickly made their way back to the Tridoron and the bikes, Chase glancing over to Gou several times to make sure the teen was actually okay.

——————————————— 

“Finally making an effort I see Shin-nii-san! I knew you were lying about liking Nee-chan. Maybe you still have a shot and Chase hasn’t won her heart.”

Shinnosuke chuckled and punched Gou lightly in the shoulder. “Very funny Gou. And about that…”

The cop stopped in mid sentence as he saw the teen slightly flinch and turn away from him. “Gou…what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Before the Rider was able to question Gou further, one of the mechanics came out to look for him. Shinnosuke gave Gou one final look before going back inside.

Gou made sure he couldn’t hear Shinnosuke’s footsteps before he clutched his side, wincing in pain. His breath was jagged and deep and as he slowly brushed his hand over the area the Dead Heat tire had burst on him, he whimpered as pain shot through his body. Although there had been several times he had been alone, he was afraid to lift his shirt up to see the brunt of the damage. He was sure his ribs were definitely bruised if not broken. 

He leaned against the side of the garage, trying to ebb the pain away so he could go back inside without anyone knowing how hurt he actually was. “Shin-nii-san…you better take good care of my sister. With my injuries, I…I don’t think I’m gonna make it out of our final battle.”

“I knew that move you pulled hurt you more than you let on.”

Gou looked up to see Chase walking up to him and chuckled. “We didn’t have any other option available to us. Besides…I had to make sure you and Shin-nii-san made it out okay. I wasn’t going to stand around and let two of the people I care about the most get hurt if there was something I could do about it.”

“That is the exact reason why I’m going to ask you to stay behind tomorrow during the final battle. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you and I don’t want your injuries to get worse. Please stay behind Gou. I…”

“I can’t do that Chase. I can’t let you two go out there and face my father alone. If our positions were reversed, would you stay behind? No, you wouldn’t. You’d fight with every ounce of your being despite any injury. Sorry…but I’m going with you tomorrow.”

“Then…at least let me tell you what Kiriko and I discussed earlier today.”

Gou felt his heart drop to his stomach as he looked into the Roidmude’s concerned face. So Chase DID win his sister’s heart after all. He swallowed thickly and shook his head. “I can’t Chase. I can’t hear what you want to say. It’ll only distract me in our final battle. If we all make it out tomorrow, then you can tell me. I promise.”

“But Gou…what I want to say is…”

The teen raised up his hand and shook his head again. “Please Chase. You can tell me tomorrow. I already know what you want to tell me, but I can’t be distracted by it.”

Gou ducked underneath the garage door, leaving Chase alone outside. The Roidmude leaned against the garage, tears successfully leaking from his eyes despite his efforts to quell them.

“Damn it Gou…”


	16. Chapter 16

Chase quickly made short work of the three Reaper Roidmudes he had been fighting while Shinnosuke, Heart, and Medic went to stop the Sigma Circular and Gou had stayed on the lower level to fight Banno. Having forgiven the two Roidmude Commanders for the things they had done the day Brain died, Chase told himself he needed to thank Heart and Medic for saving Gou once all the battles were done. 

The Roidmude looked up just in time to see Banno deliver a powerful kick to Gou that broke the floor and landed the two into the parking garage below. Chase’s eyes grew wide and he quickly ran toward the hole the two had fallen in.

“Gou!”

———————–

The Mach Rider landed hard on the concrete, rolling on the ground a few times from the impact of Banno’s kick, before the Driver forced Gou out of his transformation.

Gou’s entire body hurt, having a number of new cuts and bruises, not to mention his previous injuries had been aggravated to a level that almost made the teen pass out. Against his body’s protest, Gou forcefully made himself get up into an almost sitting position just as Banno jumped down the hole he made.

“How pathetic.”

As the Gold Rider advanced towards Gou, the teen tried in vain to will his body to get up. He knew if he didn’t get up in the next few seconds, he’d be dead from Banno’s next attack. Although Gou knew his father didn’t have a physical body besides the one of the Roidmude he stole it from, he could feel the bloodlust coming from the advancing form.

A flash of purple and silver entered Gou’s vision and his eyes widened as he saw Chase begin to attack Banno. For a brief moment, the teen thought that the tables might turn and Chase would be able to defeat his father, only for the thought to quickly shatter as Banno began to mercilessly beat the other Rider. 

Gou watched in horror as Banno grabbed the Roidmude by the throat and lifted him easily in the air before delivering a powerful punch to the Driver Chaser was wearing, slamming the Rider into the wall several feet away. 

Chaser quickly got up, but Gou could sense something was wrong as purple lightning crackled around the suit. His suspicions were correct a few seconds later as the Driver emitted an ear splitting sound and shattered, forcing Chase out of his transformation. Without the power of the suit supporting him, the Roidmude dropped back to his knees, breathing heavily.

“Chase!”

Gou painfully tried reaching for his Belt as he also tried to crawl toward the Roidmude, knowing that Chase was the less hurt of the two. The teen knew that if he could get his Driver to Chase, the Roidmude would be able to continue fighting. As he brushed his fingers over his ribs, the pain intensified and Gou had to use his willpower to keep himself from passing out or puking. 

A sickening grinding sound penetrated his ears and Gou looked over to see Banno had picked up the Signal Ax and was slowly walking toward him, dragging the weapon on the ground. 

“For you to try to fight me while you’re gravely injured…that is the very definition of idiocy.” 

Gou tried to lift himself up again, his anger and fear of what could happen to him and Chase giving him the adrenaline to continue fighting, despite his injuries.

Banno laughed as he kicked his son down and Gou looked up fearfully in the red eyes of the Rider’s helmet as his father raised up the Signal Ax. 

‘Nee-chan… Shin-ni-san… Chase… I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t…’

With tears running down his face, Gou closed his eyes as the ax swung toward his neck.

—————————————–

As Chase tried catching his breath and forming a plan to get the two safely out of Banno’s reach, the Roidmude looked up once he heard the grinding noise of his ax dragging the ground. Chase tried to will the weapon to him to get it out of Banno’s grasp, but without his Driver, the weapon refused to listen to him. 

As he saw Banno raise the ax to strike down on Gou, Chase quickly mashed his hand into his Break Gunner, the only weapon he had on hand. He knew his Mashin form was no match for an advanced Rider system that Banno was using, but it was the only thing available to him. 

He quickly transformed and ran in front of Gou just as Banno struck the ax down and across his body. Chase stopped Banno’s attack for a second, using all his strength to keep the ax deeply embedded in his shoulder. He grunted from the pain, but kept an iron grip on the ax’s handle. He vowed not to let Banno touch Gou, no matter what happened to him.

“You useless pile of scrap metal!” 

Banno’s strength won out in the end and the Gold Rider deeply slashed the Roidmude across the chest, sparks and lightning bursting out of the wound. The shock of the pain coursing through his body caught Chase off guard for a few seconds, but he willed himself to forget about it as Banno went in for another attack. He quickly raised his Break Gunner to the Gold Rider’s chest and shot Banno several times, sending him back several feet. 

The wound kept sparking and lightning coursed through his entire body, finally cancelling his transformation. Even in his human form, the lightning kept coursing through his form. Chase tried catching his breath to compose himself, but upon his first breath, he knew something was wrong. 

Banno had hit his Core. He could feel the slash through his chest, even though his human body didn’t show any sign of the injury, save for his jacket’s chains being broken. The sharp pain of his injured Core momentarily froze his body and he could feel himself falling backward.

He didn’t expect Gou to catch him with the boy’s injured state. 

Chase took a few moments to will his pain away and focus while he felt the teen shaking beneath him and gripping him by his clothes, trying to check for injuries. With each second, the Roidmude could feel a pressure building up in his Core. He knew with the amount of damage it took, his Core couldn’t be healed. He wouldn’t make it out of this battle alive. He just hoped he could will his body and Core to safely fade away like Brain had done.

“What the hell did you do that for Chase!?”

The Roidmude looked up into Gou’s face to see the teen crying. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I did what I thought was best, Gou. I had to save you. I had to save the most important person in my life.”

A gold glint caught Chase’s eyes and the Roidmude looked off to see Banno finally get up from being blasted by his gun. In a split second decision, Chase knew what he had to do. As much as he wanted to die in Gou’s arms, Gou was in no condition to fight Banno. If he was going to die, he was going to take his creator with him. 

Reaching to take Gou’s hand in his, Chase used his other hand to place his license and Signal Chaser, who had survived his Driver’s destruction, in the teen’s hand. His hands lingered on the Gou’s shaking hand and Chase looked up, seeing the boy had his attention on the two objects.

“Take care of my license and Signal Chaser. They are two of my most important treasures. Gou…look at me.”

Chase made sure he had Gou’s full attention. He could feel himself unfocusing, the pressure building up quicker than it had a few minutes ago. He knew if he didn’t say the words he wanted to tell Gou now, he never would.

“Gou…you are the most important person to me, my most important treasure. I care about you deeply and I want you to take care of yourself most of all. I love you.”

Chase reached up to place a soft kiss on Gou’s lips and before the teen could react, the Roidmude pushed the boy away from him and stood up. He began to run toward Banno, purple lightning coursing through his body as his body and Core began to break down. 

As he plowed into the Gold Rider and held on, the pressure in his body reaching dangerously critical levels, he smirked as Banno tried beating his body off him. Banno had done enough damage to the Roidmude for him to even feel Rider’s punches. 

A purple light engulfed his entire body and with one last yell, Chase willed his body to explode. Through the flames, Chase rose his Core up to look at Gou one last time. The familiar twinge he felt when he thought about Gou coursed through his Core as he looked at the teen’s shocked face.

‘I’m sorry Gou. This was the only way.’

With one last shudder, Chase’s Core shattered.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this chapter taking so long. Was busy all of February getting ready for and going to MAGFest and then caught the infamous Con Plague that nearly everyone in my social circle seemed to have got. As such, I made an extra long chapter to make up for it.

Gou had painfully sat up just as the purple light surrounding Chase’s body intensified and the teen quickly threw his arm up to shield his eyes at the upcoming explosion. Luckily the blast was limited to a few feet around where Chase had forced Banno to occupy and Gou had not been hit by any of the debris.

After a few seconds after the explosion, Gou lowered his arm and stared in shock at the rising triple zero’ed Core that belonged to Chase. For a split second, the teen was hopeful. Maybe Chase’s Core hadn’t been damaged too badly. He knew Brain’s Core had survived a Triple Rider Kick and he knew Chase had grown a lot stronger in the few short months he had been on the side of good. It wouldn’t be too hard to create a new body for the Roidmude to use.

The thought was broken as he watched Chase’s Core shudder and then shatter, sending the bits across the concrete.

Time seemed to stop and Gou fought hard to breathe and to keep himself from going into shock. Tears pooled in his eyes.

“Chase…no… You can’t be… CHASE!”

The teen’s lips tingled from the kiss he received only a few minutes before as Gou crawled on the ground, eyes darting wildly at the metallic scraps and burnt purple leather that had once been the man he had fallen in love with and that he had found out too late, loved him back. His tears flowed freely and his vision was blurred as he picked up a small silver ring he surmised had been part of Chase’s Core. 

“You…idiot… you can’t die like this… you’re so much stronger than this… Why… why didn’t you tell me… that you…”

Gou clutched the license and Signal Chaser in his hand and let out a choked sob. He felt numb, his injuries just a fleeting thought as the pain in his heart intensified with each second. The past few days flashed through the teen’s head and he grew more distressed with each time he remembered Chase wanting to talk to him and he had brushed the Roidmude off, now knowing that Chase had wanted to confess his love.

Gou curled up on the ground sobbing and shaking as he blearily stared at a piece of the purple jacket Chase had constantly wore. He wanted to die, especially since his world would be without Chase. His ignorance and stubbornness was the reason the Roidmude was killed. It was his fault Chase wouldn’t get the chance to learn more about humanity.

A loud metallic crash startled Gou and the teen shot up, staring in horror at the figure that was advancing toward him. Banno had survived Chase’s explosion and even though his vision was unfocused, he could tell the the gold suit didn’t have a scratch on it. 

The scientist began cackling as he advanced and Gou shivered and stared numbly at the piece of Chase’s jacket that Banno had in his hand.

“I see you finally understand what this means. Proto-Zero died for nothing…well… he was going to die anyway. That slash I made across his chest into his Core assured me my victory through any outcome. The effort of fools…never amount to much.”

Gou watched as the Gold Rider dropped the jacket piece and violently kicked a large metallic piece. He stared at the pieces of Chase’s body strewn around before looking up and staring his father straight in the red eyes of his suit. “In that case…you’re the biggest fool of all.”

The teen felt the tears threatening to fall again, but he momentarily willed them away. “He wasn’t even human…but he was the kindest person I’ve ever met. He was sincere in his thoughts and feelings and through everything that he went through, his initial programming that both you and Krim gave him won through. He protected humanity and the people he cared about…the people he loved… Although your plans for the Roidmudes changed, you still can’t deny that Chase didn’t do EXACTLY what you programmed him to do! To call him foolish for doing exactly what you told him to do, makes everything you say and do meaningless and worthless!”

Forgetting his injuries, Gou stood up and grabbed Signal Mach, pocketing Signal Chaser and Chase’s license. He transformed and began to attack the Gold Rider in fury, getting a few good punches in and slamming Banno into a pillar. 

Gou was about to shoot Banno in the head when his father grabbed the tire on his suit and leaned in closer to the teen. “Is this your way of trying to get revenge for me killing that worthless pile of scrap? Need I remind you that it was YOUR injuries that caused the events of his death? It’s no more my fault he’s dead than it’s yours!”

“Shut up!” 

The Mach Rider got loose from Banno’s grasp and tried to attack the man again, but Banno quickly gained the upper hand, landing several punches and kicks to the area that Gou now knew that if his ribs hadn’t been broken before, they were now. The Roidmude creator gave one last strong kick to Gou’s torso, forcing the teen to fall hard on the ground. 

As Gou fell back, moments from the times he and Chase shared flashbacked in his mind. The night he had found the Roidmude severely tortured and he had ultimately healed him and took him home came to the front of his mind. The teen realized that had he not been there, had he not decided to help Chase, he wouldn’t be here today. Despite the throbbing pain in his side and the suit’s alarms blaring in his ears, the teen heard a small familiar beep coming from the least likely place. Gou shakily stood up. He couldn’t die like this. He had to avenge Chase and make the ultimate sacrifice the Roidmude did mean something. No matter what, Gou would make Chase’s last action be a heroic one. 

“Get back here.”

The Gold Rider turned around. “You shouldn’t even be able to move Gou. You exhausted your strength and your injuries are severe. Give it up. You’ve lost.”

Gou chuckled as he pulled Signal Chaser out, the bike weakly beeping to let the Rider know it still was able to be used despite it being damaged. “Can’t you see I have plenty of energy left? Especially when I still have the task of beating you…father?”

He gave Signal Chaser a reassuring squeeze. “You’ve done so many things I’ll never be able to forgive. You used me, you hurt and brought shame on my sister and the people I call family, you used Krim’s inventions for evil and betrayed his trust, and you tortured your creations for no reason. But… worse than any of that… you… You killed the man I loved!”

Gou held up Signal Chaser with both hands, bowing his head and placing the front wheel of the bike on his visor. “Chase…I’m so sorry. I know I’ll never be able to properly make it up to you on what I’ve done to you…but please fight with me one last time. I love you too.” 

The teen placed Signal Chaser in the empty spot in his Mach Driver, where Signal Mach previously had been and slammed his fist on the Driver, signalling a transformation. Gou stood his ground as the surge of power filled his body and suit. 

“Wh…what is this!? Mach doesn’t have a configuration like that! How is this possible!?”

Gou didn’t give the scientist any time to understand what had taken place and quickly activated a speed burst, rushing toward the Rider and hitting and kicking him with the boosted power he had received from Signal Chaser. It was a bit overwhelming for the teen, but Gou knew he probably didn’t have much time to use what little power remained in the bike. 

In a few short minutes, Gou had quickly overpowered his father and slammed the Rider into pillar. 

“I…Impossible! This is impossible! Your inferior design and Driver couldn’t possibly outpower my ultimate Driver and form!”

Banno used an unknown paralyzing attack and froze Gou in place. The Mach Rider struggled as he tried breaking free, especially once he saw Banno summon Zenrin Shooter and the Signal Ax. As Banno was about to attack, Gou heard frantic screeching and he looked up to see Chase’s three Viral Cores fly over to attack the Gold Rider, before absorbing into his suit and giving him a boost in power. Gou was grateful the three Cores had decided to stay loyal to their master, even if he hadn’t known about their whereabouts ever since the last days Chase had been evil. 

Gou quickly gained the upper hand again and grabbed the weapons back from Banno, using them to attack his father, slashing him twice across the chest until the Rider was on the ground.

“You…you’ll pay for this Gou! I’ll make you pay!”

“Right back at you.”

Both Riders activated their finishing attack, the energy the two were emitting already clashing and sparking. They both jumped up to perform their finishing kick, Banno initially gaining the upper hand. Gou struggled under Banno’s power before catching a flash of silver and purple among the gold and blue power. Although he didn’t turn his head for fear that he would lose his concentration, Gou felt Chase’s spirit beside him helping him. With one last yell, Gou overpowered Banno’s kick.

Gou landed and started breathing heavily, his Driver sparking. He didn’t dare turn around but he could tell the same thing was happening with Banno’s Driver. He heard the sound a Roidmude made when it transformed moments before there was a huge explosion and he saw the ruined Driver of his father land a few feet away from him. 

Gou stood up just as Signal Chaser’s power ran out and his transformation broke apart. The energy he was getting to make him forget about his injuries disappeared and Gou quickly dropped to his knees, clutching his side. 

—————————-

“Gou!”

Gou wearily looked up to see his sister run up to him. “Nee-chan…”

The woman bent down and carefully placed her hands on his shoulders. She looked around the wreckage before setting her eyes on Banno’s charred Driver. “You beat him. You beat our father.” 

Tears welled up in Gou’s eyes and he reached up and clung to his older sister, who pulled him closer to her.

“Gou…what’s wrong? He’s gone. We won.”

The teen shook in Kiriko’s arms and he choked out a sob as he realized that his sister didn’t realize what the rest of the wreckage was. 

“I’m such an idiot Nee-chan. I didn’t realize. I didn’t let him explain. I should have let him talk, let him tell me that he… He didn’t even know…that I loved him in the same way he loved me.”

Gou felt his sister tense and raise her head up before hearing her break down moments later, clutching onto him as strongly as he was clutching her. 

The siblings took a few minutes to compose themselves and Kiriko made Gou lay his head down in her lap so he could rest as she first called Rinna to get to the garage to get Gou medical attention and then called Shinnosuke to tell the Rider of their victory of defeating Banno and Chase’s death. 

“We should ready for Rinna to get here. I know she’ll want a clear area, so let’s move you over there. Okay Gou?”

Gou nodded and let his sister help him get up and put her arms around him. She supported him as he limped the few yards away to a clear section of the garage…away from Chase’s wrecked body. 

“Nee-chan…if I don’t wake up for a while, can you make sure all of Chase’s parts are gathered up? I don’t want him to…”

“Of course Gou. Rinna told me that the rest of the Pit Crew is on the way with the van. I’ll have them pick everything up.”

“Thank you Nee-chan.”

The feeling of a huge Density Shift hit the two and Kiriko stumbled before she came to a complete stop, only able to slowly turn her head to see behind her.

Since Gou still had Deadheat and the added latent power of Signal Chaser, the teen was able to move normally. He was about to move the few feet to get to Kiriko when he heard the bone chilling cackling from his father behind him. He turned around in shock to see Banno’s face on the charred Driver. 

“Damn it! You’re still alive!?” Gou moved to grab Signal Mach and transform again, but the sharp pain in his side forced the teen to clutch at his side. He stared in hatred at the Driver, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to transform one more time. His energy was nearly completely spent. 

“It appears that Sigma Circular was complete just in time. It will complete my plans I set in motion. This world will be at its mercy!”

Banno began cackling again and Gou frantically looked around for any way to shut the scientist up. His eyes landed on the abandoned Signal Ax just a few feet away and without a second thought, the teen grabbed the handle. This was the way. This was the way to finally avenge Chase. He’d destroy his father with the same weapon that nearly took his life, the same weapon that triggered the events that took Chase’s life. Willing himself to forget the burning pain in his side, Gou dragged the Ax to where the Driver was. 

Gou could still hear Banno cackling and talking to himself as he dragged himself near the charred Driver, the scientist too pre-occupied with himself to realize how close his son was getting. The tip of the Ax was just inches away from him when Banno finally realized what was happening and gasped. 

Banno’s pleading fell on deaf ears as Gou shakily raised the Ax and placed Signal Chaser in the slot, hoping the bike still had a small bit of power left to help avenge Chase. The Ax activated and Gou pressed the red button to signal the finishing move. Even the Ax wanted this to end and in seconds, it quickly alerted Gou to being ready, opposed to the near minute it took regularly. 

Gou raised the Ax as Banno threw out more pleading words, begging his son to spare him. As Gou began the movements to swing down, the teen smirked, realizing he had been in the same position that his father was in only a short time ago. 

As the Ax hit the Driver, breaking the thing into several pieces, Gou smiled. “Goodbye father. I hope you rot in Hell for everything you’ve done.”

Gou dropped the Ax and limped to his sister, the pain in his body intensifying with each step, before he was nearly crawling to her location. He shakily pulled out Deadheat and grasped her hand, putting the dual Shift Car/Signal Bike in her hand, forcing her out of the Density Shift and bringing himself into it. 

He had just enough movement to watch her run out of the garage before slowly closing his eyes, finally letting the pain of his injuries shut his body down. He was grateful for the Density Shift slowing his body down as it fell to the ground. 

———————————–

Gou’s heart felt like it dropped to his stomach as he saw most of the Shift Cars and Signal Bikes and the entire Drive arsenal surrounded in a forcefield. He swallowed hard as he listened to Krim’s explanation on why he was locking everything up and kept his hand firmly around Signal Chaser and Chase’s license that somehow made their way into his jacket pocket before pulling out the bike. As much as he wanted to keep the little bike, it was still part of Krim’s technology and needed to go with the others. 

The teen stepped up to the forcefield, holding the tiny bike up. “Krim…you’re…missing one to lock up. I don’t know how Signal Chaser ended up in my pocket since the last time I remember, it was in the Signal Ax. I…”

Krim shook the Driver pedestal. “It’s my understanding through watching the surveillance tapes and hearing about the battle you fought from Signal Mach, that Chase gave Signal Chaser to you. So, it’s not mine to take underground with me. Besides, you have more of a use for it than I do. Keep it safe, okay Gou? It might be useful in the future.”

Gou smiled softly and clutched the bike to his chest close to his heart. “Thank you Krim.”

————————

It was a week later after the Global Freeze was averted and Gou was packing the last few things in his travel bag. His injuries were mostly healed but Rinna had told him that he would unfortunately have burn scars on the areas the Deadheat tire blew up on him. The teen didn’t mind, they would be reminders of the sacrifices he had to make to protect the world. 

“Are you sure you want to leave Gou? I’m sure we can get a good word in for you at the station. They need a good photographer in the crime lab.”

Gou turned around and shook his head at his sister. “As much as I appreciate the offer, I really wouldn’t be good police officer material like you and Shin-nii-san. Besides, I really can’t stand being in this apartment alone anymore. Especially since…”

Kiriko gently hugged her brother. “I know Gou. We all miss him…I know you more than any of us. Just…don’t be a stranger. Come home once and a while.”

“I will eventually. As soon as I look into those abandoned labs of our father that we were alerted to, I’ll come home to tell you what I learned. I just hope one of them will have the way we can bring him back somehow.”

“Gou…”

“Nee-chan…it’s still a mystery on how Chase survived that blast Shin-nii-san used to blow him up. You both were witness on his Core blowing up. I’ve got to find out why that happened and if we can repeat it.” 

Kiriko sighed. “Gou, if that were the case, then his Core would have reformed by now, especially since we had all the pieces and the remaining bits of his body gathered up. It’s been a week and nothing’s happened. Maybe that was a one time thing.”

“Yeah…and I’m still mad that you guys buried that box containing him. We’ll just have to dig it up if I find a way.”

Before Kiriko could say anything more, there was a knock on the door before it opened and Shinnosuke walked into the apartment. “I hope I gave you two enough time alone. Gou, are you sure you don’t want a ride to the station to say goodbye to everyone? I know they’ll ask about you.”

“I’m fine Shin-nii-san. Besides, I need to get going. Take care of my apartment while I’m gone.”

Gou began to walk past Shinnosuke and was nearly out the door, before he stopped and turned around and smiled softly. “By the way, you two should probably confess your feelings for each other. You never know what could happen from one day to the next.”

—————————–

Gou looked up at the traffic sign and took a deep breath. “Whelp, just another few hours til I reach Kyoto. Really should have grabbed an extra water bottle at that last gas station.”

The teen reached into his pocket and brought out Signal Chaser and Chase’s license. He smiled at Chase’s license before chuckling. “Yeah yeah… I know I did a dumb thing. You know…if you were here, I wouldn’t even be doing this. You’re lucky I love you you dumb robot.”

A horn honk broke Gou out of his musings and he turned around, surprised to see a familiar motorcycle pull up close to him and an older man get off. 

“Professor Harley!?”

The older man pulled the teen into a hug. “Gou my boy! Glad I finally caught up to you. Climb on and we’ll be able to reach Kyoto in about an hour.”

“Why are you here though?”

“You’re family Gou and I thought you might need a scientist to help you go over your father’s research.”

“How did you…you’re the one that alerted me to it, aren’t you?”

Harley laughed and patted the teen on the shoulder. “Unfortunately no. I was alerted anonymously like you were. But whoever it was knew of what you wanted to do, so hopefully they don’t have ill intentions for us.”

Gou smiled. “Yeah… Anyway, it’s gonna get dark soon so we should go. And Professor? I think of you as family too. Thank you for caring about me.”

“Anytime Gou.”

Gou made his way toward the motorcycle, putting Chase’s treasures in his bag. “I’m driving though. You’re insane behind the wheel.”

As Gou drove off with Harley in the sidecar, Gou smiled, hoping that one day soon, Chase would be riding beside him.


End file.
